71 Comments on “A Well-Timed Class Exercise For Y’all”

1. diet pepsi

2. That last Friday my company announced to close down my whole department, and handed me a pink slip.

   No, wait, that’s not it.

   Ah yes: My wonderful wife and the rest of my life, which, apart from the job thing, is pretty rad. :)

3. My kids.

4. I am very thankful that my teenaged son survived Burkitt’s Lymphoma. It was a long four months of surgery and intense chemotherapy, but the fact that he made it will be what I remember from 2008, an otherwise crappy year.

5. That around the year 1607, brave men and women came to the shores of a new country and began the systematic slaughter and forced relocation of its native peoples so that I can have the internet, mini-vans, and interstate highways.

6. The Cipralex that has allowed me to start re-learning how to function. Confirmation of a suspicion about my other brain issues and the accompanying relief. Partners who are very kind and very supportive through all of this.

7. You know, all the usual things. My family. my amazing friends. My not-quite-fiance-yet-because-Quakers-have-a-process-for-this-sort-of-thing. The English language. The Spanish language. Languages in general. The internet. Computers. Antibiotics. Books.

   Best wishes to you and yours for a safe and happy holidays.

8. …and clearly not for grammar, because I seem to be abusing it soundly today. ::headdesk::

9. I’m thankful for my life the way it is, screw-ups and all. Otherwise, I’d never be a 29-year old semi-alcoholic. Of course, I also wouldn’t be living an awesome life in Japan and have a bright future ahead of me. I love my life, although I’d like to have a cat, as my tabasco plant doesn’t give me the same sort of affection.

10. I’m thankful to be alive, I just learned one of my buddies from college isn’t so lucky.

11. I’m thankful for a wonderful partner, a job I love and the fact that another fall quarter is over with at school. And for beer! ^_^

12. I’m thankful that I have an interesting and rewarding job where I do application development and support with people in several countries.

    I’m thankful that that my marriage is thriving.

    I thankful that my children are growing into good citizens and that their education is going well.

    I’m thankful that the mammogram and ultrasound I had two days ago because of a lump in my breast (yes, it does happen with guys) showed nothing abnormal.

    And I’m glad I had a copy of Old Man’s War to pass the time while I waited for the mammogram. Thanks, John.

13. My city suffered a massive flood this summer. Nine square miles went under water, and 25,000 people were evacuated. The damage is in the billions.

    But my home is dry, I have a good job, I have money saved (sort of. Thanks a lot, economy), and the world’s best family. And I am indeed grateful.

    Best wishes to all of you.

14. Although I’m not American, I find the habit of focusing on the positive aspects of one’s life is something we all should do more often.

    This was a crappy year without a doubt, but I’m still thankful for my health, my friends and family, my job and this here Internet connection, which allows me to meet, or at least quietly stalk very interesting people.

    Happy Thanksgiving y’all! :)

15. I am thankful I don’t have an arm growing out of my head.

16. Every year at Thanksgiving, I look back and reflect how thankful I am that the Pilgrims didn’t shoot a skunk.

17. I guess it would have to be my kids. I am an old fart, and the oldest of these kids is Scazi’s age. But they all turned into interesting people (for various values of interesting). And nice people. I never thought it would be the sort of family where we actually read the same books and discuss them. (Well, they are books like The Android’s Dream, but still …. )

    And to be snarky, I am thankful I look way younger than my ex-wife.

18. Very basically, I’m thankful to know what abundance is and not have a lack of anything in my life including the important things like good friends, loving family and spouse, and good health. The basic necessities of shelter, clean water and food are more than adequately covered and I am very grateful because so many more people can’t say that they have even the barest minimum of their necessities.

19. I’m thankful that I washed out of the Marine Corps. It led to my current life with a beautiful daughter and two awesome, loving women.

20. Gravity. I’m thankful for gravity.

    And the English language that doesn’t put two Ls at the end of thankful.

    But most of all I’m thankful that my man came through before thanksgiving. Can’t hack the family sober.

21. I am thankful that I still have a job and that I have friends, family, and cats who love me.

    I am thankful for my new Mini that allows me to write and surf from bed, as I am not feeling well today. YAY portable technology!

22. I am thankful that gas is under $2.00 a gallon.

    I am thankful for Agent to the Stars, as well. Another winner, John !

23. My kids, the love of my life for 17 years, a wonderful job with absolute creative freedom, geeks, happy fun times, books, movies, music, being alive despite lupus trying to take me down, blogs, things that amuse me, friends, laughter (especially a child’s laughter), people who share their wisdom, those who have gone before but the lessons they taught still live on and well I could do this for hours.

    Been reading your blogs for awhile now but first time commenting.

    Have a fantabulous Thanksgiving to all those in the U.S. (canuckistani here)

24. That I have a job, that I am furthering my education, that my family is happy, and that a semi-famous SciFi author lets us play around on this little piece of cyberspace. (The fish-slapping I could do without, though. ;) )

25. I am thankful for my kids (2 girls ages 23 and 12). And books. Both my kids love to read and I am so thankful for that.

    I am thankful for an inheritance that is allowing me to survive despite losing my job.

    And finally, I am thankful for glorious vodka.

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

26. Top eight, in no particular order:
    – That we didn’t elect John McCain.
    – That I’m still gainfully employed for at least another month, have a roof over my head and don’t have the bill collectors chasing me. Also, that I get both Thursday and Friday off.
    – (ref: pwstrain @5) – That the Native Americans are starting to get some revenge by exploiting Anglo gambling addicts rather than by bombing major cities.
    – The internet and the personal computer, without which none of us could inflict our vapid, mindless prose and poetry on each other.
    – My family, our ongoing health and general well-being.
    – My country, which, despite an ongoing series of monumental fuck-ups, and the fact that frequently we do not “just get along”, is still a pretty decent place to live and raise a family.
    – Cats, with or without bacon.
    – Music, books and the other cultural artifacts that fill my idle hours.

27. That I’m married to a wonderful person and that I’ve got a lot of lovely wonderful bunch of people in my life who are healthy and happy.

    And that Barack Obama got elected and Bush’s last days in office are within sight.

28. I am thankful that my husband arrived in the US (although not home yet) after nine months in Afghanistan on the Pakistani border and a total of 12 months away from home. He is physically intact, which we are fortunate for since several in his unit were not so lucky. And thankful for my two young children and all of our friends who helped me get through this year.

29. That I don’t do “class exercises” on Thanksgiving.

    Oh wait. I just did. Never mind.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

30. I’m thankful for Harvey Milk. It’s the 30th Anniversary of his assassination, and he has done more for the Gay Community than almost any other politician in America, and his legacy lives on today in the grassroots organization post-Prop 8; my generation’s Stonewall.

    I am also thankful for everyone who came out in situations where they were in danger of ostricization, and rose above it.

    I talk about it more extensively in my Daily Kos diary. (Yes, this is a shameless pimp, but, I feel pretty strongly about this topic.)

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/26/181324/29/304/666842

31. I’m thankful that the Washington State Employment Security Department has excellent programs for displaced workers, as does the college I’m now attending. It honestly never occurred to me that losing my job could be a good thing.

32. I’m thankful that Rob and I have two whole days off and they’re the same two days and we’re both at home.

33. I’m thankful for my family (duh, right?) and my new job that is fairly recession proof. I’m thankful to be in a place in my life that I can enjoy this day and help others enjoy it too. Oh, and I’m thankful for the internet for allowing me to comment here and take a break from some the insanity that is Thanksgiving.

34. This was my most-recent “thankful for” post:

    http://www.danbailey.net/210/other-things-i-am-thankful-for

    There was one before it, but I don’t want to trip your spam filters.

35. I am thankful I am cancer-free and have a bitchin’ scar on my shoulder I am totally making up a better story to explain.
    I am thankful that I have an amazing husband, wonderful friends, fabulous dogs, and intelligent coworkers.
    I am thankful that I can walk, see, hear, smell and taste.
    I am thankful that I am getting a netbook tomorrow so I can whinge about too many groupings of letters bleeding out my eyeballs with a NEW gadget.
    I am thankful for teh internets, which allow my brain to ingest large amounts of trash and wisdom.
    I am thankful for zombies.

36. I am thankful for my savings so I don’t have to eat my mutant poms for Thanksgiving.

37. I’m thankful that Jeremy (#9) would like a cat. Please let me know where to send the damn thing, as UPS just told me that “Jeremy, semi-alcoholic 29-year-old American in Japan” isn’t a good enough address.

38. P.S. I forgot to say that I am also thankful for the commenter (I wanna say it was Greg) who, on another post, made a reference to “a gunnysack full of badgers. With cudgels.” Because I totally hijacked that phrase for our Christmas family newsletter, to explain what it’s been like living with our kids this year.

39. I’m thankful I’ve got good shoes. I used to plod around in other peoples’ castoffs (that were normally pretty worn out when I got them and never really fit) or this extremly cheap excuses of shoes that would start leaking after two weeks of using them. And then four years ago, thanks to a gift of money and some reprioritizing, I could buy myself a pair of real, high-quality, sturdy winter boots. They are still as good as when I bought them. This time of year, it makes all the difference in the world.

    Also, I’m thankful that my boyfriend found a job last month, and that he stayed with me through the almost-a-year of unemployment and scarce money.

40. I am thankful that I have enough to share with people who don’t have enough, and that being aware of them moves me to do something rather than (as in some other years) sitting back frustrated and angry, or worse, apathetic.

    I’m also thankful that I never got a tattoo. When you hit the 50s, if you’re not the one in a couple hundred-thousand who has kept their 25-year-old body, the tattoos of youth are not so lovely.

41. I am thankful that when the wildfire broke out I was able to box up my cat (with minimal bloodshed) and get her in the car, and for friends who welcomed us into their homes.

    I am thankful that my home wasn’t one of them that burned.

42. I am thankful for waking up on yet another morning thus continuing my winning steak in the lottery that is life.

43. My wonderful wife

44. I’m thankful I have a chosen-family that rivals my biological family for most values of awesome and totally wins in accepting my rampant bisexuality. And in leaving semi-sober three-part harmony holiday carol voicemails.

45. From up here, in Ottawa Canada (where our Thanksgiving already came and went, so I’m really just horning in on *yours*), it seems to me that electing Obama may be the U.S.’s big ‘un, this year.

    Especially considering the hyper-expensive chickens currently coming home to roost.

    Maybe all is not lost. Maybe, a year from now, even staunch unfans of Mr. Bama will grudgingly concede some points.

    One can only hope. (Cue *Que Sera, Sera*)

46. Thankful that I have a family and girlfriend that are upset that I can’t be home for turkey day (USAF), being missed helps

47. As I said earlier on my site-

    I’m thankful that we have everything we need in the fridge to lay out a heck of a spread today.

    I’m thankful today for my beautiful wife, who will be in charge of pumpkin pie. I get to cook everything else – which is excellent.

    I’m thankful that my extended family made it safely through their recent move.

    I’m thankful that I don’t have to go anywhere or buy anything tomorrow. It’s gonna be nuts out there again.

    I’m thankful that I have the freedom in this great country, the God-Given right, to arm this headless Cornish Game Hen with a steak knife, and make him patrol my kitchen counter.

    These are the things that really matter.

    KsR

48. I’m glad that I’ve gone from a crap situation five years ago to one where I’m financially stable, graduating from college in a couple of weeks, enjoying the hell out of my fairly-recent marriage, and working long but good hours at a steady job that’s enabled me to support both of us while my husband plans his next career move.

    I am, however, not especially thankful that I’ll probably spend the rest of the afternoon working on hypothesis testing for claims involving the mean where the population standard deviation is unknown, thus forcing one to use the student t-distribution to determine P-values. Freakin’ required stats class.

49. Nothing particular really. I mean, apart from the election of Obama, the internet, most of my friends(most, because some can be asses most of the time) aaand..that’s just about it tbh. Not that bad tho.

50. I am thankful for the support and encouragement from my family, friends and wonderful girlfriend that has gotten me accepted into a phlebotomy training program. Now I have a chance to get out of my dead end job and do what I want.

51. In the words of my nine-year-old, looking wide-eyed at the Thanksgiving table, I am thankful for my generally glorious life.

52. Friends.

53. Me? Besides my wife, children and grandchildren, this.

54. I’m thankful that 2 years on, the LASIK hasn’t made me go blind. It’s the best money I’ve ever spent, right up there with the college education. If I had to compare the two, LASIK might win since it’s cheaper. 20 years of thick glasses makes you realize how nice it is to be able to see.

55. I’m thankful that we’re not having turbaconduken for dinner.

56. 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets.

57. If I had to pick one thing that I am grateful for this year it would be that the curse of mental illness that has struck both my parents, and caused one’s suicide, has seemed to surpass me. Meaning, I’ve got my shit together, and while not totally immune from the disease, I’m affected less by it. I’ve officially outlived my father, and for that I am grateful.

58. I’m thankful I got my car back. In one piece, even. I’m thankful that the fellow who took it did so because he needed a nondescript compact with which to carry off a break-in at a local school. The school had silent alarms, which I’m thankful he didn’t know about, and due to Larryville’s rather numerous and bored police force, I’m thankful there were so many cops waiting for him when he stepped outside of the school that he didn’t feel inclined to put up any sort of fight. I’m thankful no one got hurt.

    I’m super-thankful he confessed (in a great amount of detail) to stealing the car on the spot. This kept the car out of impound, and let the police sign it over to me within hours of his arrest. Aside from the cracked windshield and the terrible reek of wine inside the vehicle, it runs fine. I’m still in shock from the whole experience, but I’m thankful for my family who helped with transportation in the meantime. Extra-thankful to my mom for fronting the money for a new windshield, dad for knowing how to smoke a turkey, brother for mixed drinks, and my son and his mom for their support.

    Also: Subterranean Press. Those guys rock.

59. I’m thankful Barack Obama won the election.

    I am grateful I have almost 6 years sober (dec 9).

    I am a woman who is working on a Master’s degree, and on a global scale that is a privilege (despite the mounting debt!) the vast majority of the world does not have .

    And even though I have no health insurance, live in a low income neighborhood and have had other issues of stress having to do with money lately, I live a safe and privileged life compared to many around the world.

    This occurred to me today as I was worrying about my life stuff, and then heard on the radio an update about the terror attack in Mumbai. If you think of it, please send good thoughts to those enduring this tragedy. (or pray if that is something you do)

60. inkgrrl @ 35

    I find that “boating accident” serves to explain all injuries you would rather not explain. People don’t ask much after that.

61. I am thankful for surviving the last 365 days — I have had some great adventures and met several kindred souls along the way. Like a crazy man who blogs all the time and drinks Coke Zero and knows how to cut a rainbow-colored rug. :)

62. I’m thankful for our new President-Elect. I’m thankful that I reside in Ohio and could vote early.
    I’m thankful for the unconditional love that only a puppy can give. I’m thankful for my puppy, whose whole back end wagged happily when he saw me wednesday after I came back to PA for Turkey Day.

63. I’m thankful for my DH & my kids–and that we’re all healthy this year.

    I’m thankful for the friends who invited us to a huge family Thanksgiving—it’s hard living away from extended family.

    I’m thankful for all of the wonderful books I’ve had a chance to read (or reread) this year.

    I’m thankful for the new med. one of my kids is on–it has made a world of difference in his life, and mine.

64. I’m grateful for friends and family.

65. I’m Thankful for parents and in-laws that get along, and having so many friends still in CA that I won’t get to see them all on our short trip.

66. All of the precious things in my life.

    The most fulfilling, enjoyable times I have spent with friends and family.

    That I am alive in the 21st century and that much of life is like Science Fiction.

67. I’m not an American, and the concept of Thanksgiving really requires the existence of an omnipotent deity who can be held responsible for things which just happen, or which are better attributed to real people.

    So; thank you, dear reader, if you’ve done anything awesome this year, or if you’ve made someone happy, or if you’ve just done your bit to uphold the social contract by being a law-abiding and pleasant world citizen.

    Any thanks I myself owe to real people have hopefully already been delivered, and it seems a little odd to thank myself for things which I have done.

    But with that said, I’m very /glad/ I’ve changed my medication and am now doing a lot better.

68. My family, my health, my job, my co-workers because they never fail to make me laugh, a home.

    Oh and I’m thankful for friends and family who understand just how much I LOVE to get lost and stay lost. I find the best things when I do that.

69. Friends.
    Luck.
    Catmull-Clarke subpatches.

70. I’m thankful for my husband and two beautiful children.

    I’m thankful for words.

    I’m thankful for community.

    I’m thankful that Barack Obama is our President-Elect and that he took Florida.

    I’m thankful to be headed toward a bright 2009.

71. I’m thankful for my amazing husband, who has no idea how amazingly wonderful he is, despite the fact that I tell him hundreds of times a day.

    I’m thankful for thousands of books in my house, waiting patiently for me to get around to reading them.

    I’m thankful for authors who continue to write wonderful books, even though I’ll never catch up.

    I’m thankful that Barack Obama will be our next president.

    I’m thankful that depression is treatable, even if it’s not truly curable.

    I’m thankful that money really *isn’t* everything.