Why I'm thankful - a day late

I am really thankful for so many things this year. Here's a short list of some of those things.

• Facebook - Without Facebook and other internet sites and gadgets and games, I would not be reconnected with people I hadn't talked to in years. And would not be able to talk with my family and friends overseas as often. I also would have less distractions keeping me from procrastinating from doing work I actually need to do.
• My new job - Not only is the job so much better for my stress level, I also have a much longer commute which allows me more time to listen to NPR Morning Edition, and allows me to spend way more money on gas than even makes sense. This extra spending means less spending on the little things I used to blow my money on.
• Political Conservatives - I cannot even explain how grateful I am for this group of people this year. Without them I would never have had some of the readers on this blog that I have had this past year. Most importantly, without the vast number of conservatives out in this country I would not have been able to have the great feelings of accomplishment, of vindication, of success, of CHANGE that I felt the night of 4 November 2008.

• Back problems - Without this incredible back pain, I may never have really known how many movements the body can do that involve the lower portion of my back. I never would have known that how much the act of laughing works your lower back. I may never have experienced sharp pains going through my body that caused me to flinch and almost scream curse words in the classroom. I may never have felt the great sleep that comes with muscle relaxants.
• Black Friday - I am also happy that I am not going shopping on this Black Friday. I am happy (and you should be, too) that I am not out there today because, despite the bad back the people in the stores would, no doubt, drive me to the point where I would be imagining all sorts of thoughts/actions that would not be conducive to me staying out of jail. I can't stand crowded shops because the people there seem as though they have never been in a store and that they don't understand that they should not block the aisle with their shopping carts full of needless things/their children/their bodies as they look at something on the other side of the aisle. They make me so angry. And then the check out lines take forever because not only are the people running them new, seasonal hires, the customers inevitably put way more in their cart than they can afford. Then they must go through each item that is at the bottom of the cart after being pinged through the cashiers machine or at the bottom of the bags and decide what they can take out. This leads to their kiddos screaming and crying and begging and to me being even more angry, though happy that I don't have children, yet. I will try to avoid the shops as much as possible until after the middle of January. I will celebrate Buy Nothing Day.
  

But for real. I am very blessed to have a lot of things -- family, a great man, friends, and most importantly, life. I am alive. I am witnessing the possibility of great things to happen in this nation. I have a roof over my head that is not leaking. And I am less stressed than I have been in 4 years due to the job change. That, above many of the other things, makes my life so much better because I can enjoy all the other great things in my life that much more.