Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s Thanksgiving. Does the fact that today is Thanksgiving mean anything to me? I suppose not … I’m currently at work like any other day. It appears to me that the Germans really don’t care that the pilgrims once ate a large feast with the Native Americans prior to beginning the mass genocide necessary to steal the land of their gracious hosts… As a matter of fact, I’m willing to bet that the only reason Americans care about this holiday is because it gets them a couple days off; and since I’m currently at work on this holiday, I guess I don’t care.

I suppose the true meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday is really for people to take a good look at their lives and try to come up with at least a few things to be thankful about. Number one on everyone’s list should be that they weren’t one of the Native Americans that got slaughtered by their European guests shortly after giving them food to survive; but that should go without saying… Apart from that I’ve decided to come up with ten things that I am thankful for this year. Following are my ten items and a small explanation of exactly why I am thankful (in no particular order):

1. I’m very thankful that I was able to get this contract work opportunity over here in Germany. I was having a very hard time finding work in Colorado and this contract work is giving me the opportunity to keep my house – sure, I can’t live there for a while; but at least I’ll have a house to move back to when this is over…

2. I’m thankful for the scientists that discovered the amazing drug Viagra! I’m pretty sure that this needs no explanation…

3. I’m thankful that the rash I currently have on my left gonad is nothing more than psoriasis! You can just imagine how worried I was about this – I was sure it was an STD. Luckily, however, I was able to get it checked and have been informed that it’s not a big deal. That’s a load off my mind…

4. I’m thankful that moving to Germany and deciding to get around with nothing other than walking and public transportation is starting to show positive results. I came here with four pairs of jeans – all 38” waists. For the last couple of weeks I have been having a hard time keeping my pants up – I could actually wiggle my way out of my pants even with my belt fastened in the tightest position. Yesterday I bought two new pairs of jeans (34” waists, thank you very much…), seven new pairs of briefs (I was wearing boxers, but with all the walking I am doing, my boys need a home…) and a new belt. It seems that I am actually becoming less of a man – and that’s a good thing…

5. My friends. Although the group is small, I appreciate all of my friends very much. After all, what more does anybody need besides friends to help them through the rough times and celebrate with them during the good times? Living in Germany by myself for the last four months has really pointed out the importance of friends to me. There really is nothing more important.

6. My family. I really am very thankful for the endless love that I receive from my family. This should go without saying; unfortunately I have been witness to many families throughout my existence that just don’t seem to get it – they’ve let stupid little personal quirks or material issues cause enough friction to actually tear the family unit apart. This, of course, is stupid. Luckily, for me, I was born into a family that understands the value of unconditional love. I’m thankful for this…

7. Finally discovering what I want in this life. It’s become painfully obvious to me rather recently that the one thing that I am looking to find is someone to love (well, besides my blood relatives that is…). I’m thankful that I have been able to figure this out although I now need to actively participate in the search – maybe next year I’ll be able to be thankful about finding that someone … only time will tell…

8. I’m thankful for technology – the Internet, especially. Thanks to the Internet, I am now able to actually move to Germany and still stay in touch with my friends and family rather easily (and far less expensively than it was in the past…). Although the experiences I have been having since moving over here are generally interesting (the understatement of the year), having the ability to share these experiences with loved ones makes them just that much more interesting. I’m thankful that sharing these experiences has become so easy…

9. I’m thankful for my sense of humor. Without it I would most definitely have cracked by now. Too many people are wound way too tight these days – they’re living under this delusion that their lives are so important that they best not do anything silly or people might not take them as seriously as they seem to think they need to be taken. Screw that! People need to loosen up a bit and realize that laughing (often times at one’s self) is a wonderful way to turn bad situations good. I think that I have become pretty good at this and I am thankful…

10. YOU! I’m thankful for the readers of my blog! Granted you are a rather small group (interestingly enough, the total number of visitors to my blog is currently at 666 – eerie, huh?) but that’s okay. Although the number of visitors is small, the loyalty of my visitors amazes me – I’ve had 114 one time visits and some 260 visits from individuals that have visited my blog more than 15 times! The only thing I can conclude from this is that a majority of my visitors find something interesting in my blog. I’ll keep writing the blogs as long as you keep reading them … thanks!

Hmm … I was actually able to come up with ten items – amazing… I think that creating a list such as this is actually a good practice. It lets you focus a bit on the more positive aspects of your life and lets you put the hassles off to the side for a while. What are ten things that you are thankful for?

bis später,

Coriolis