Gratitude 2013

Maybe it is a little late but I wanted to post this. 2013 has been a horrendous year for many people I know. It has been fraught with divorces, health problems, legal issues, employment challenges, parenting issues, issues with parents, and relationship struggles the confluence of which I have not seen among my friends and myself in my lifetime. I'm loathe to attribute too much to providence (or her big brother, God) but the blessings of life have ebbed for much of this year and yet, finally, in this last quarter they have once again begun to flow for myself and others. Here is a list of things that I am grateful for this year. Some are specific and some are obviously purposefully vague to protect those who dare associate with me too closely.

1. My slow cooker (first attempt at Taiwanese 牛肉面 was last night and it was amazing.)


2. That the Navy's newest aircraft carrier is the U.S.S. Ford.


3. My house

4. That I've lived the life that I have and seem on the cusp of the life I've always wanted.


5. That the Star Trek novels are continuing the story in the Prime Universe.

6. That the geeks won the culture war. Now Hollywood makes our movies, Target sells our t-shirts, and beautiful women dress like our adolescent fantasies.


7. For BIC.

8. That there are two Chinese restaurants in Boulder that serve great beef noodles.

9. That I have a stationary bike in front of my TV.

10. For my heroes: Ben Sisko, Malcolm Reynolds, William Adama, and other fictional starship captains.


11. For my health.

12. For my job which allows for flexibility, intellectual curiosity, and personal fulfillment.

13. That certain people are in my life and certain people are not. (That's the most passive aggressive I'll get in a public forum ;)

14. For Chris Traeger and Ron Swanson. If you put them together you have the father figure I hope to be someday.



15. For Rachel Bloom

16. That I'm American. There's a lot of great cultures on Earth, but damn, I love being American.


17. That life is long and course corrections possible.

18. That my car, computer, roommates, and self made it through the 1,000 year flood of 2013.

19. That I have enough going on that Ben Affleck being cast as Batman only ruined three or four days of my year.


20. That I'm male. I love women but my chromosomes were definitely picked correctly.