It Could Be Worse

Because I feel like I've been about a lot of doom and gloom lately (or maybe its just in my head that I'm all doomy and gloomy), I thought I'd roll out a new idea this morning called It Could Be Worse. The aim is to look at the bright side and uplift rather than focus on the bad and get down (the depressed kind, not the shake yer booty kind).

I'm not quite sure how it'll work but here goes.

It was sure cold last night and this morning but it could be worse, this photo could have been my commute this morning.

There's never enough money to make it through the month but it could be worse, I could have already lost my job, we could have already lost our house and had to move into my wife's parent's house in Pleasanton (where little is actually pleasant).

Gratitude is the Attitude Days 20 and 21

About time I finished out this three week meme with the last two days of things I'm grateful for.

Day 20 - I'm grateful for checks in the mail paying me for me for work I did a while ago. I was expecting them, of course, but its one thing to expect a check and another to finally get it.

Day 21 - I'm grateful to be able to figure things out and also to be able to figure things out for other people. I work in tech support and too many people that do what I do forget about the support part. It isn't support if you belittle and talk down to people who need help, it makes them feel small and that you are a jerk. I do my best to gently fix their issue and try not to make them feel bad if it turns out to be a simple fix. I may not be super amazing strong on the tech side (which means I do a fair bit of research to figure things out) but I'm very strong on the support side and that's why I had my schools trying to hire me outside the district rules.

Gratitude is the Attitude Days 17, 18 and 19

We are approaching the finish line on this 21 day meme of gratitude. Overall I think its been an interesting exercise in looking at the bright side of life rather than dwelling on the bad.

Day 17 - Saturday was a good day to not be working, to spend some good time with my kids, sell something on Craigslist we've been trying to sell for a few weeks and decompress from the stress of the week. I also got a shit-ton of laundry done (by the way, I'm also grateful for the term shit-ton because it is super fun to say).

Day 18 - On Sunday I was thankful to not have access to a way to watch the Forty-Niners get drubbed by the Atlanta Falcons. We turned off our cable service last week and were still waiting for our DTV converter box so no tv. It was a painful ass-kicking, for sure. I have also been grateful to have easily avoided seeing the Dodgers or Yankees sweep through to their division championships. I hope the World Series doesn't come to a Dodgers and Yankees wank fest since I pretty much loathe both teams.

Day 19 - Yesterday I was grateful for bedtime, specifically I was grateful when it was time for Grady and Sully to go to bed. Don't get me wrong, I love those little boys like nothing else on the planet but last night they were being especially persistent, repetitive, difficult and whiny. It made for a long night of repeated questions, tantrums and other joys of parenting. Bedtime was peaceful time.

Gratitude is the Attitude Days 14, 15 and 16

I rather prefer this couple of days at a time method of posting the reasons I'm thankful and grateful. It is less cluttery and lord knows my life can use some less cluttery.

Anyway, on to the meme at hand.

Day 14 Reason I am Grateful - I am thankful for cool, smart and creative toys. Lately my two little boys have been making fantastic creations out of the Magnetix (now called Magnext) line of toys. I'm a big fan of creative toys rather than action figures or other branded toys because they encourage the expansion of one's mind rather than the implanting of brands and marketing schemes.

Day 15 Reason I am Grateful - I'm grateful for starting on the road to a more focused me through medication of ADD which I've had my whole life and only just recently gotten diagnosed and treated, thanks to my brother. The change has been marked and I've really liked how much more I've been able to get done without being so majorly distractable.

Day 16 Reason I am Grateful - I'm grateful for awesome office managers at my schools. One in particular is a really great lady who I've enjoyed getting to know, has two wonderful kids and a jerk for an ex-husband who's a fool because she's beautiful, smart, funny and awesome. That she gives me free leftover lunches regularly has little to do with how much I like her, well, yeah it helps!

Gratidude is the Attitude Days 11, 12 and 13

So yeah, I've missed a couple of days but I have a reasonably good excuse in that our internet has been pretty severely jacked up since last week. We took a cost saving step of eliminating our landline at the house. However, in doing so, we lost our internet. It took nearly a week to get it turned back on even though it was a stupid setting in the AT&T offices and had nothing to do with our house. And yes, it took a service call to our house to determine this.

Anyway...

Gratitude Day 11 - I was deeply thankful for the opportunity to get out and sweat some stress, work my body and enjoy some of the fantastic late fall weather we have here in Northern California. I took a bike ride in Nisene Marks State Park, spun my way to the top of Sand Point and down the backside. No crashes, not too much traffic on the trails and really just a great time.

Gratitude Day 12 - I'm grateful for the genuine gratitude people extend to me when I am able to resolve their technical issues. It sometimes doesn't happen in an especially timely manner but that's as much a combination of my schedule as it is the problems they are having.

I'm also grateful to be starting on a regimen of medication to try and help alleviate some of my ADD symptoms so that I will be more able to lock in on tasks and see them through to completion. But boo on having to wait until Wednesday to get the 'scrip filled because the drugstore was out of my medication. Oh well, a couple more days of wandering mind won't hurt me too much.

Gratitude Day 13 - I'm grateful for the freedom my job offers me to find another place to be when the computer lab fills up with unruly kids and complaining teachers. Seriously, if the only thing out of your mouth is complaint after complaint then can you really wonder why people turn around and walk the other way rapidly when you approach?

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 10

Today I am happy and thankful for the end of the week. I had a busy week with lots of changes, new faces, new spaces on top of the same old craziness. I'm feeling pretty well wiped out and beat but looking forward to spending my weekend with my family.

Though I wouldn't complain if AT&T got around to turning our DSL back on like they said they'd have done yesterday.

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 9

What glimmering bit of optimism and gratitude brings me whatever measure of contentment I have today on the ninth day of the 21 day Gratitude meme?

Coffee. It tastes delicious (when properly cut with some creamer because the straight black stuff is n.a.s.t.y.), it warms me up, it delivers a little charge of energy and just helps to get the day rolling as smoothly as possible.

Happy First Day of October. I hope and expect this month will be another improvement over last month. But maybe that's just the coffee talking?

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 8

What am I thankful today as I continue this three week odyssey of gratitude and being thankful?

I'm thankful for still having options even though, for all intents and purposes, I don't really deserve any more options.

And let's just leave it at that for now.

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 7

Woops, missed a day yesterday again. For some reason I'm having a hard time staying on task.

A third of the way in and I'm still finding plenty to be grateful for.

Today's gratitude goes to my brother. I'm grateful that he took the time to talk with me at length the other day to try and help us get our financials sorted out. In the course of the conversation it came to my attention that I am very likely suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder. He strongly and repeatedly urged me to seek a professional diagnosis and get started on some medication to help me out.

I have an appointment scheduled for this coming Monday, the soonest I could, and will look forward to seeing what it is like not having my mind pulled in fifteen directions at once.

So, thank you, Peter. I really do appreciate your efforts, your caring about me/us and your advice.

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 6

What am I thankful for on day six of the 21 day meme?

I'm thankful for my naturally positive nature and buoyant attitude. I may experience periods of being down in the dumps and bothered by life circumstances or some jackass driving like a jackass but I rarely stay in a bad mood for very long. I have a tendency to shed my crappy attitude and return to being a mostly happy guy without too much trouble.

Attitude counts for alot because it is the lens through which we view our reality. If you are angry all the time then the world is angry right back at you. I choose to be happy and the world is a much better place because of it.

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 5

What am I thankful on this beautiful Sunday morning?

I'm thankful that football season has started and the Forty-Niners are off to a good start on the season (though an awful start on today's game) and that has taken some of the attention off the whimper that the end of the Giants baseball season has become.
Football is fun to watch and even more fun to watch with a bunch of pals, some beers and a bbq going outside.

What are you thankful for today?

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 4

Today's Moment of Gratitude:

I'm thankful that my neighbor's are the ones having the big party for their three year old grandson and not me. With some 20 families invited, the pandemonium is going to reach epic levels shortly.
I'm also thankful that we got a chance to play in the Scooby Doo bounce house and get my boys all tired out. They are currently napping.

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 3

Here we go with Day 3 of the Gratitude is the Attitude meme.

What am I grateful for today?
I am grateful for the happiness of my children. Grady is a wonderful child with a great smile who loves to have fun and laughs loudly. Sully loves to tell knock knock jokes that sometimes make no sense and turn into long rambling stories but he always laughs out loud when he gets to the end.

Gratitude is the Attitude Day 2

Woops, looks like I forgot that I'd gotten on another meme boat in the madness of the last couple of days. Oh well, I'll catch up right now.

What am I happy for today?
Living in California where more days than not are awesome and beautiful and the beach is a ten minute drive away. Where I can ride fantastic mountain bike trails through the redwoods in the morning and then spend the afternoon on the beach with my family.

And there's the distinct lack of freeze your ass off winter.

Gratitude is the Attitude

A neat idea from Nutsy Fagan to post a reason to be grateful everyday for the next 21 days.

So, to kick off my 21 days of Gratitude, here's what I am thankful for today.

I am thankful for the health of my family. For having two healthy and happy little boys. A healthy and getting healthier wife. For my dog who, knock on wood, has been unhurt for a long time. And for our cat that was originally free and then ended up costing something $1200 in vet's bills in the first year and a half we had her.
And, of course, for my own health that I try to never take for granted. I exercise, I try to eat healthy food more often than not (though, as any regular reader knows, I have a weakness for In-n-Out Burger) and maintain a positive outlook on life.

So there you go. What are you grateful for?