Thanksgiving Day Parade 2011

The EricDStokes.com Thanksgiving Day Parade is back! Since I have been MIA on the blog for the past few months this will be an ideal time for you to get caught up on all my hot news. Leading the way to start this year’s parade is a large pineapple balloon celebrating the 6^th season of Psych. Psych is currently my favorite show on television. I enjoy the quick humor and overall clean episodes. Yes I’m still missing the TV show LOST something fierce... But Psych has brought some joy back into my TV viewing. Next we have a balloon celebrating the new Job I started earlier in 2011. I now work at Allen Communications in downtown Salt Lake City as a “Design Lead”. I love working at Allen, the people are great, and the job is very fast paced and fun. As a Design Lead I have the opportunity to create training (both computer based and instructor lead) for a wide variety of clients. Working at Allen has also given me the opportunity to meet a number of great individuals around the country and go on several business trips to Rhode Island.

Next it’s Duffy the Disney Bear. This year during our annual trip to Disneyland we met Duffy for the first time… Duffy is a big hit in Japan, but Americans as a whole haven’t been as accepting of Duffy (much to the dismay of Disney Stockholders and Disney board members). Nevertheless and notwithstanding the trip to California was great. It's always wonderful to chill in California with the family.Up next is something I’ve been waiting almost a full year for… P90X 2 is coming out this December. For the past year or two I have been obsessed with P90X. It has totally changed the way I exercise (i.e. I now include weights in my workout routine instead of just constantly running for excise). No I don't have giant muscles... Yet... But I do find it fun that I can do more push-ups and pull-ups than your average 5'9" guy.Here comes the Captain America shield I used as part of my Halloween costume. I had to make it myself out of a pizza pan because all the shields available were for either super obsessed fans (i.e. a real shield for $200) or for little kids (i.e. 12 inches wide… thus not protecting me at all.) And one additional side note... I really enjoyed the movie Captain America. Something about a small skinny guy with a good heart getting large muscles speaks to me.

I don't have a picture to represent one of the most meaningful things that I’ve been involved with for the past year or so... At church I've been able to work closely with many of the guys in the Elders Quorum (the men’s organization for my church). In two different wards, (aka congregations) the University 32nd Ward and in the Deer Hollow Ward. Because of this I've been able to meet, work with, serve, and be served by an endless array of studs.And last but not least... As with every year you know that Christmas has arrived on EricDStokes.com when the Christmas fedora makes it's appearance. So that should update you on the past few months of my life.

Hope ya'll have had a great Thanksgiving! And please keep me posted on any Hot news in your life.

Thanksgiving Day Parade 2010

It is Thanksgiving Day 2010! And that can only mean one thing… The EricDStokes.com Thanksgiving Day Parade is back! This parade not only delights children of all ages but it also highlights some of the most exciting moments of my 2010! The parade is about to start its two and a half mile journey so hopefully you’re all bundled up and ready to cheer!

This year the grand marshal of the parade is… Jack Shepherds eye!



That’s right after six confusing seasons LOST has finally come to an end. You will remember the series opened and closed with the image of Jack’s eye, and within that “blink” we were introduced to a Smoke Monster, polar bears, and a giant four toed statue. LOST you will be missed.

Next in the lineup appears to be Mark Monson and Brett Andrews fast asleep.



This entry commemorates the Spring Break trip I took with the roommates to Disneyland. And what did we learn on this trip? Roommates get tired when traveling with Me because I like to speed walk from one ride to the next… And wake up early to hit the park first thing… The only time I wasn’t speeding during this trip happened to be on the 10 hour drive down to California and back.

Making its way down the street is a HUGE diploma!



This year I graduated from Utah State University with a Masters degree in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences. And what do you do with a degree in Instructional Technology and what is Instructional Design in general? Well our next two entries should help explain…

It’s a giant balloon explaining the definition of Instructional Design!




If there is one thing I have learned this year it is that no one knows what my job title means. It usually takes 5 – 10 minutes of explaining for people to even begin to give a faint nod of the head signaling they might have an idea about what I do. (Which is somewhat concerning in that I’m supposed to be able to teach effectively… And yet I struggle to explain my job title. And sadly it looks as if this balloon even has some typos... So maybe this won't help the situation.) Following the Instructional Design definition balloon is another entry that requires some explaining… SwRI is the wonderful company that hired me on full time right after graduation. The full name of the company is Southwest Research Institute…. I could go on but it looks like the crowd is getting a little restless. Hopefully the next few entries will liven things up.



Coming to us from our friends at YouTube are two of my favorite characters from random viral videos. We have the classic Antoine Dodson and Marcel the Shell with Shoes on. If you haven’t seen the clips these two balloons are based off of do yourself a favor and check them out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw

And our last entry officially signals the start of the Christmas Season…



That’s right it is the return of Christmas Fedora! Out of all the Fedora’s I own this is the one most rarely seen! So be glad you were here today to witness this moment!

Well it looks like that is the end of today’s EricDStokes.com Thanksgiving Day Parade. Hopefully ya’ll enjoyed it! And hopefully you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I personally have a endless list of things to be grateful for… From family to friends to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ… I’ve got it all!

Much Love,
Eric D. Stokes

The Parable of the Fedora

On March 20^th, 2009 I went into American Eagle to take advantage of the “15% Off” deal they give when it’s the week of your Birthday. As I was looking at the new spring selection of stripped and solid color Polo’s a plaid hat caught my eye. I walked over and stared at the hat, not daring to pick it up, for fear of what the sales associates might think. In my mind I imagined the girl working at the checkout counter warning all the other employees (through those ear pieces they all wear) that someone who wasn’t trendy enough to buy a fedora was getting a little too close for comfort. I then decided that there was no way I could “pull off” that hat. It wasn’t my typical sense of style, I would never actually dare wear it in public and if I did dare wear it people would mock me. I went back to looking at more medium sized polo’s until I found myself back with the fedora.

I decided I would try it on, but there was no way I would try it on out in public (even though this was at the Cache Valley Mall and it is always empty). So I grabbed a medium vintage fit polo and the fedora and headed to the dressing room. After trying the hat on I figured I really couldn’t pull it off in any normal public setting, but perhaps during the summer at efy I could wear it for games night (“Games Night” is the one time during the week Counselors are allowed to wear hats). Still unsure of my ability to “pull it off” I took a picture of myself wearing the hat in the dressing room and sent that picture in a text message to Jill Catts asking for her thoughts. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait in the dress room too long before Jill replied back. After receiving a positive response from Jill and taking into account the fact that at efy I would be the Counselors boss, and since most people would want to be on good terms with their supervisors I didn’t feel Counselors or youth would openly mock me if I wore the hat. As I approached the checkout counter I was sure the cashier would question me about the hat… Strangely she rang it up as if it was completely normal for someone like me to buy a hat like that; perhaps she figured I was buying it for some trendy person who could “pull it off”. I tucked the hat away until its big debut at efy, once again I was pleasantly surprised that no one questioned my ability or right to wear the fedora. Since that time I have purchased several more fedoras and even wear them in normal public settings such as going to the library or shopping. Therefore what? So I can wear a “Fashion Hat” in public and not be overly concerned with what people think…

I think one message that can be gained from my experience with the plaid fedora it that you can “pull off” more than you think… And I’m not just talking about style. Often times in different social settings I remain quite or in the background because I often don’t believe I can “pull off” the happy, outgoing, kind and caring person that I would like to be. I worry that people will think I’m just being fake, or that I’m really “trying too hard”, or that it just isn’t me. Yet whenever I have stepped out of my comfort zone to be the kind, caring and outgoing person I desire to be I never regret it… The only regret I have is not doing it more often. So the next time you hesitate to do something good simply because you are worried that you won’t be able to “pull it off” or you get worried about what others might think… Just think of how great I look in my Fedora… And step out of your comfort zone, not worrying what others might think! (And if you don’t think I look good in my Fedora… Step out of your comfort zone anyway.)