the thanksgiving list, 2004 (part two)

i'm grateful for hundreds of things. earlier today, when i was ascending the rain-moistened stairs of the clarendon metro stop, i commenced reflecting upon them and i haven't stopped since. it's been fourteen hours. :)

.

i'm grateful that i've been blessed with an education, so that i know that dearest Bono is counting wrong in the iPod advert. ;)

i'm grateful for you, sir "butterchurch", the engineer who walked away from riches to work at a non-profit that helped the innocent. you know i love you. i always will. and i'll always remember your devotion. maybe three lifetimes from now, i'll be able to make it up to you...probably not.

i'm grateful that G-d made me so sensitive that music makes me cry, movies make me shake, art makes me catch my breath. i wouldn't be able to write a damn thing without this attribute that some see as a curse.

i'm grateful that i have stud genetics. i can fluctuate twenty-five pounds either way (in january i was at 120, in october 145), and most of you don't seem to notice. yeah, i know i'm very lucky.

i'm grateful that i made peace with my father just months before he died.

i'm grateful for digital cameras, b/c i'll never be without an abundance of another loved one's photograph, like i am with my father...

i'm grateful that i can flawlessly parallel park every car i've ever been handed the keys to, just as well as any man can, even if i'm...not at my best.

i'm grateful for the clouds and colours of the sky, for filling me with humble appreciation, every day.

i'm grateful that i've learned to live rather happily "without money" during this year (!) without a job, sans yuppie welfare/unemployment.

i'm grateful that my mother believes in me so much, she'd let me have a year to write, when i'm too old to expect such indulgences.

i'm grateful for the civic hybrid commercial with the pink and white flowers, the black and white horses, the blue-eyed man and the brown-eyed girl, for never failing to make me smile.

i'm grateful to google for quenching a thirst that regularly tortured me before.

i'm grateful for johnny walker gold. and black. ;)

i'm grateful for the ridiculously huge sense of accomplishment that Sepia Mutiny has provided me with, this year. i'm so proud of it. it's an honour to be on that sidebar, and i've never taken it for granted.

i'm grateful to diesel jeans for making me look like a %*&^#$ rock star. :D

i'm grateful to new york city, for being my inspiration, my sanctuary, my dream, my divine, singular, perfection.

i'm grateful to aji and susan, for getting married this year, for inviting me to those blessed celebrations, for making me weep with joy at the bonds that i was witnessing, for creating an inadvertent, unforgettable reunion at each wedding.

i'm grateful to amsterdam falafel, for opening in adams morgan. wowwwww yum.

i'm grateful for the concept of bloglines, for giving me the opportunity to follow eighty different blogs.

i'm grateful for the way boys smell, right after they've shaved, when their cheeks are damply soft.

i'm grateful that i'm not lactose intolerant. oh, HELL no.

i'm grateful that more and more foods are made w/o trans fat, and WITH whole grains, so that we'll all be healthier. oh, and i'm sweetly surprised and grateful that triscuits now come in "rosemary olive oil", so that i don't get sick of my standy "garden herb".

i'm grateful that our constitution brilliantly limits people to TWO terms in the white house...

i'm grateful for bright yellow leaves in the fall, and that i can see them in person, all the time, b/c i'm suddenly somewhere that has a true and glorious autumn.

i'm grateful that the red sox won, especially b/c everyone i love was ecstatic at their victory. :) may a thousand other things fill you with even greater elation.

i'm grateful that no matter how soul-crushing my life has been, i've never doubted the existance of G-d, ever.

i'm grateful that boy bands are DONE. also, that people see britney for the zit-riddled, filthy, declasse talent-allergic slag that she is, now that she's made a mockery out of marriage, twice. hey, whatever it takes for y'all to realise she's an idiot...

i'm grateful for the metro, b/c it means i can give my precious little honda civic to my moms, who deserves it a million times more than i do.

i'm grateful for my beautiful family.

i'm grateful for TypePad, for helping me become more of a writer. well, at least a regular one. i had three other blogs, using two other applications before this and none of them energized me the way Six Apart's masterpiece has.

i'm grateful for the "aero bed-in-a-minute"...good heavens, i'm addicted to that thing. i can't bear to deflate it, and i regularly forsake a real bed for it. it's FANTASTIC.

i'm grateful that my hair is *finally* long enough. and that i'm secure enough with myself to leave it dark (almost the exact shade i was born with), not auburn, not highlighted, not punky red or blue, not anything. that little bit of self-hatred has been obliterated.

i'm grateful that my driver's license picture is the greatest one i've ever had, and i've had two fantastic ones before this...oh yeah, i'm REALLY grateful that i'm photogenic. i know it's something a lot of you remind me that i should be thankful for/comment on, and i hope you know that i don't take it for granted.

i'm grateful for mindfulness, and the power, peace, and potential it contains.

i'm grateful for text messages.

i'm grateful that dogs and babies like me. a lot. i trust their judgment.

i'm grateful that i was born a very wanted girl to a feminist father, who treated me like a son even though he ONLY wanted a little girl, and that he created me in a country where i'd be safe and free from persecution, affliction or inferior treatment.

i'm grateful that my jewish and hindu ancestors thoughtfully chose to convert to my ancient faith, without coersion, threat or incentive; i'm grateful that i am a descendant of one of the oldest christian families in the world.

i'm grateful for costco dinner rolls, b/c they remind me of something beloved from kottayam's Best Bakery, and b/c they are sooooo soft and yummy. and cheap. you do know that i NEVER eat them with dinner, right?

i'm grateful that every morning when i wake up, i get to start over, and that i finally "get" this.

i'm grateful for VH1 Classic's "the alternative", for making me feel like i'm 16 and lying on the floor of my parent's family room, hands pressing my father's expensive and huge retro headphones over my small ears, eyes closed, listening as if my very survival relied on it, all over again.

i'm grateful that no one i know personally perished in the twin towers or the pentagon.

i'm grateful to the scientist who proved that swishing listerine around in my mouth was almost as good as flossing; who has the patience for such a gross and time-sucking ritual? not me, anymore. ha!

i'm grateful that you are reading this right now, and that you'll let me go to bed and add the all-important first part tomorrow. what you've kindly read through was just the warm-up. the greatest blessings i know haven't even been listed yet. :) i'm a very lucky girl, indeed.

Comments

[Carissa]

Anna, this is stunning. You touched my heart and made my day. Now I can go to sleep without regretting the moment I crawled out of my warm bed this morning.

Happy Thanksgiving from Tokyo.

[Anushya]

Anna, this is just wonderful!! Thank you for making my day :) Happy Thanksgiving from Toronto, Canada.

[A N N A]

and happy thanksgiving to all of you. :)

[sixthone]

The blog/flog world is thankful for you lovely one!

[BIGBAER]

Hello Anna, I am grateful too for the chance to read such heartfelt emotion so elegantly expressed. You brought a smile to my face...

The Web is wonderful. Follow a link and find a treasure.

Oh, and yes---your drivers license photo is stunninly beatiful! And we ALL know how nigh-impossible it is to have decent photo taken at the DMV! You ARE lucky!

Peace, and all the best. Wishing you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[Ry]

I love your list this year, Anna. I kept reminding myself to make mine, but then I got too tipsy. Heh. I shall attempt it later when sleep has been had.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving. :D

[Amelie-Freak]

And I am thankful for one flaming A N N A for having a seriously addictive blog and for letting silly girls such as I leave neverending comments on their space before finally reminding me of how great and grand the blogosphere can be.

I enjoyed this entry. I hope you're having fun and taking care of yourself, wherever you are.

- M.

[TJ]

Hey Anna,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I am thankful for you and everyone like you in my world. Thank you for writing this blog. Gives a whole different meaning to EVERYTHING

[No One Special]

May not be the most appropriate picture to make this comment on, but you have a great ass!!!

[HAQ]

Ditto. Add: "I am greatful for the body I am blessed with" to the list please.

[Theo]

Would you two idiots just shut up! Have some decency -- she's at a graveyard and it's the only photo she has! Would you yell out "Nice Ass" to somebody at a cemetary? I really hope not ...

[kbhjoboc]

Is it legal to download works from peer-to-peer networks and if not, what is the penalty...
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