what I am thankful for

The first "Thanksgiving" was from the settlers who invented dirt here in North America for a good harvest. God had provided, as He always does.
I'm thankful for a lot this year. I think of all of the things on the list, I'm most thankful for the growth in my life. I feel like my eyes have been opened a bit further in how much I have at my fingertips. That in and of itself seems huge. Over the past couple of years, I've been through a couple of tough things. I feel like I can see attacks and support now. I'm in an office where I can CONTINUE to grow too! In my previous employment, that wasn't really an option. I feel very lucky that I was thrown into the office that I'm in. The staff is awesome and I already feel at home here. I'm even getting hell from my counterpart in the IT dept in G-town! Yes, I'm even thankful for YOU!!! (even if you don't like eggnog) We've had a social where I met the important people to my job. I'm supposed to have lunch with another big dog in a week or two. The agents, the staff, and the management seem to like me (by giving me crap about this or that or the back desktop!). I feel accepted and more importantly respected. It seems a very dynamic office that I'm currently working in. There are a lot of major changes happening. And guess who is supposed to help things move along smoothly? Hah! If the ladies in my office are not old enough to be my mom, they're old enough to be my grandma! I think this has helped me so much. They seem to treat me like someone who is a bit like an adopted adult son. That is another thing I'm thankful for. I can make lots of mistakes and they will show me how to do things with patience. I'm not slow, but I'm not brilliant all of the time either. Every few days I ride the short bus to work and they keep me laughing while helping me keep the office going.
I'm also very thankful for a particular young lady that came into my life almost a year ago. I know that we will never be together for a couple of reasons, but you have helped me grow in more ways than you know. You hold so much of my respect. And I'll be keeping my eye out for a good man for you.
The last thing I'd like to mention is all of the encouragement that people, some more than others, have given me over this past year. It's kept me sane and able.
That is what I'm thankful for.

oh yeah

And happy dead bird day

More thought provokers on the economy

I've been poking around in the news a little more of late and I've found a couple more good articles.

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/11/27/fix-immigration-by-next-thanksgiving/

When the big dogs from the Detroit auto makers showed up to Congress in their private jet, Congress asked if they would take a pay cut. LOL So Congress sent them back to their factories. Just a thought here:
http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/11/20/memo-to-ford-gm-and-chrysler-follow-cisco-ceos-lead/

biggest encouragement I've had in a while

"it doesn't matter how many women want to have children - you only need ONE that doesn't"

Am I crazy?

So, I had a drink with a good friend of mine this evening. He helped me get a job and so I promised a drink. Along the course of the conversation, we encountered a couple of people. The topic came up about dating and how hard it was so I went into my rant/whine. I don't want kids. I just don't. I love kids. They are awesome. They have such a positive attitude about everything. I just don't see myself changing my mind any time soon. So, I'm having trouble finding a date. Of the 132, as of tonight, women that I have asked, all but three want kids. One of them is a young adult in college. One is happily married. The third is married to her job. 1/132 is roughly 0.75%. That is less than 1%.
Am I crazy for not wanting kids? I've been struggling with the thought that I might never find a good girl that I can fall into. I'm not real sure where I should be going.

What does it take to be a king?

Kings come in many forms - managers, fathers, coaches, presidents, directors, judges, elected officials. What makes you ready for the position of king?
I don't know a man, nor have I ever heard of one, who was not completely blown away when he became a father. What would make you ready?
To me, it seems that all the kings of this world are supposed to do is give. They give their time on our behalf to take care of the formalities of having a society. They make us dinner when we are having a tough week. They negotiate on our behalf when we buy our first car. They help us work through things when they are not the easier day-to-day stuff. They organize events and oversee them for us. They show us how to do things and how to grow in it all.
In today's world, they are not always the people that they should be. They take millions and beg for billions. They hop around our planet in Lears and give presentations on how we can and should save the planet.
What would prepare a man to live a life of giving?

"What matters is what you do with what you have"

I just glanced at this quote the other day when I tore it out of my quote-a-day calendar on my desk and I wish I could find it now.
I remember a couple many years ago. They drove a suburban and a civic. The licenses were CMMM on the suburban and CJSMM on the civic. They stood for see Mike make money and see Jane spend Mike's money. I remember that they had to be pointed out to me by our "new girl" Laurie in the office where I worked on computers. She said that they were millionaires with investments worldwide. I would have been about 18. That seems so long ago.
The time that I observed them was right after Laurie mentioned it to me. The gal got out of her car right across the street to walk a brown paper bag and a 7up to the driver's side of a rusty old blue suburban.
It seems that the really wealthy just don't live crazy or lavish lives. They don't "live it up." They are sensible and caring. They get things that last; good investments. I remember hearing (I don't know if this is true) that Warren Buffett owned a simple Honda Civic until just a few years ago when he "splurged" on a Buick or Caddy. How many old caddies do you see still running around?
I have a friend that spends so much time thinking about how she can save more and more of her pathetic paychecks. She has investments, savings, NO debt and probably spends something like 8k/year. Most of her spending goes to living expenses and trips to see her friends and family.
At the bottom end of the spectrum, I know people who live on the interest rates. By that I mean that if the market takes a tumble, their home is repossessed. They live off of credit. They live larger than life, literally. They spend so much of their credit that to make bigger than the min would cause them to miss a payment on something else. Going on a vacation means that they get a new credit card to finance it. They don't know what it is like to KEEP money in a savings, because they have never had one.
Which end of the spectrum are you at? (This Q is just for you, not me.)