What I'm Thankful For...

There are so many things that I could be sad about. The deepening chasm between Americans - socioeconomic, ideological, political, and otherwise. The lack of jobs for many recent (and not-so-recent) graduates -- this is my generation. The bullying epidemic. The inevitable chill of winter. The last season of "Chuck." 


And I do lament those things. But,  you know what I look for when I open up my news app in the morning (it's seriously the first, no, second thing I do when I wake up)? I look for the good, heartwarming news: the articles about Good Samaritans, reconciled individuals, reunited family members/friends, cute dogs with their own book (Boo!).

Seriously, how can you not love me?

 That, or beautiful photos of my beautiful nephew doing beautiful things...or nothing at all. 

Yaaaaaaaaawn.

So, instead of concentrating on the negative, let's live on the sunny side of the street, the greener patch of grass...let's wake up on the right side of the bed, shall we? Otherwise you'll end up with a back-ache and the dire need for an Icy Hot patch (which I actually had to use last week; needless to say, I felt like a grandmother). Besides Boo and my adorable nephew, this is a short list of the many joys that graced my life in the last few weeks:

1) Blogger - can I just say how awesome it is to have free blog-hosting sites? Just think, before blogs, I had to write my thoughts down on...(shudder)...paper! Just kidding, of course, but it is so easy to take techie tools like this for granted, when only a few years back the only way (and reason) I could share my written word was to get it published in our school newspaper back in the Philippines. To that end I'm also grateful for...

2) Nostalgia - recently a classmate from the Philippines visited me for a few weekends, and we got to reminiscing about the good old days. While it's good to keep moving forward (like a Toyota), it's also fun to reminisce. We talked about the petty fights (and boy, were they childish!), the overnight stay at our classroom to talk about the school year (soph year, '03), camping trips, etc. 

3) Karaoke/sing-alongs - I love singing, even if I'm not a great singer. And what I love even more is singing with good friends. That's why I will always be down for karaoke, or an impromptu sing-along session around a piano. Seriously, hit me up anytime. 

4) Replaceable hard drives - I was debating whether I should get a new computer and get a PC (because Macbooks are mad expensive yo) or just replace my old Mac with a new hard drive. I went for the latter and got an inexpensive 500 GB hard drive on Amazon; popped the old one right out and now my Mac's running smooth as silk. 

5) Steve Jobs - for being so obsessed with making the best tech products for consumers. My Macbook may be  4 years old and hanging on by a thread, but it's still humming along just fine with its new HD. Now, Steve might not have wanted to hear that -- I'm guessing he wanted everyone to replace their laptops/iPhones/iPads/iPods/iSomethingorOther every time Apple releases a new version -- but hey, it's Apple's fault my laptop just won't quit!

 

6) Skype - 2-hour Skype session with my mom & dad? Priceless.

7) New York City - it's loud, it's crowded, it's expensive, it's dirty. It's a City. It's larger-than-life. It's vibrant. It's got history. It's got great food. It deserves its own well-composed essay. 

8) Free shipping with minimum purchase - four cute tops, pants, and skirt for $70 AND free shipping? I'm shocked, JC Penney. Yes, I did say JC Penney. 

9) Pippin - Ah, dogs. They're so simple, so needy, but so unconditionally loving. It was so fun taking care of this li'l beagle for a few days, and he got plenty of belly rubs and a healthy dose of HGTV and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 

10) My sister's sonogram - could this be any more exciting? I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt for the second time!!!! I'm just so thrilled for my sister, my brother-in-law, and our family. We're so blessed to have a fantastic support system, and I can't wait to come home for Thanksgiving to see my sister's baby bump! And, of course, plan a fabulous baby shower. 

Ah! An alien!

My cup runneth over.