A Thanksgiving List

Ah, the beauty of Turkey Day. Not only do I get to go home and take a break from school/work/research, but I also get to:

1.) play with my doggy, Gizmo (aka my Raison d'etre).
2.) hang out with my faggoty friends (Matt and Judd, and my BFF Bailey from college).
3.) play video games non-stop (a stellar mix of Star Wars Battlefront II, Halo 2, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, Dynasty Warriors 5, and a little sprinkling of Perfect Dark and Final Fantasy II)
4.) eat not just one, but two amazing dinners (thanks Mommy!)

After two and a half days of blissful living, I finally returned to college yesterday evening. Although the break was amazing in words beyond description, I do have a couple regrets:

1.) that I didn't eat/hoard more leftover Halloween candy.
2.) that I forgot to bring the extra large bag of spearmint flavored mints.
3.) that I didn't pack the pumpkin pie and take it with me back to school.

Otherwise, it was perfect.

To be honest, I haven't had a lot of breaks like that. Lots of times they're either taken up by lots of work (homework, reports, grading, or essays) or worse things (job interviews). And it's times like that that make me think about (here comes the cliche) things that I am thankful for. Truthfully, I've rarely had time to just sit down and think about the things I'm grateful for but have no time nor salience to acknowledge. But then again, I guess that's what this space is for. Without further delay, here are the top ten things I am grateful for:

10.) Asian Noodle House - Thank you, not only the best place to eat in Collegetown (in terms of cheapness/quality/quantity/cleanliness/location) but also amazing people that work there. I may not know them by name, but I have their faces memorized, and I'd like to thank them for not only serving me the same meal every 5-6 days (Roast Duck and BBQ Pork over Rice), but also putting up with the fact that Bailey and I have a tendency to stay there for hours upon hours. Not just that, but also for putting up with the atrociously offensive/racist jokes that I so love to tell.

9.) Spiderman Vitamin Gummies - Thank you, Sundown Inc., for helping me to get 200x my daily dosage of my vitamins, while tasting so delicious that I could eat an entire bottle in one sitting. I'm surprised I haven't OD'd on them yet.

8.) The Los Angeles Lakers - Thank you, LA, for dominating your competition (except for one night against Detroit) and allowing me to watch not only the most dominating team in black-men-bouncing-a-rubber-ball-around-a-hardwood-floor, but also the most entertaining one.

7.) Detractors - Thank you, to all those who told me I wasn't good enough, told me I wasn't wanted, or that "things just haven't worked out." Not only have I learned to thrive in adversity, but I have learned to allow my hatred to drive me to new heights of individual fulfillment and success. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing, because I love who I am now, and a lot of that is because of all the people who have told me I wasn't good enough for them.

6.) My Teachers - Thank you, to all my professors, for not only being intelligent human beings, but also empathetic and engaging. Thanks especially to Prof. Protsak and Prof. Henderson, for making math not only interesting and engaging, but also fun and entertaining.

5.) My Anime/Novels/TV Shows/Games - Thank you, for allowing me not only to pass the time between doing work, but also teaching me about myself, both in dealing with the situations of characters, the themes present in each medium, and the changes they undergo. Not only do you give people a poignant way to describe life (what would life be like without DBZ metaphors?), but also a way to relax and lose oneself in a story.

4.) My Classmates - Thank you, to those whom I share class with. Of course there are a couple people whom I consider more friends than classmates, but we met in class, and bonded as classmates we shall remain. Too often we take for granted those whom we go to class with. Know that while each class may not necessarily be different without you, it most certainly would not be the same.

3.) My Co-Workers - Thank you, to the people whom I CA with, and the guys (and gals) who work at MSC. God knows, I am so involved in both, that if you people weren't as nice as you are, I would be miserable. Even though we are all very different in our backgrounds, interests, and social idiosynchrasies, you made it so that working at MSC and as a CA was one of the best decisions I made at Cornell.

2.) My Butt Buddies - Thank you to my two butt buddies from home, Matt and Judd, who can always be counted on for a good time (both platonically and sexually), as well as my pseudo-life partner, Bailey. Without you guys, I'd have to do so many things by myself (play Battlefront II, talk about philosophy, masturbate). Individually, I'm thankful that Matt is a godless liberal, allowing me to test the bounds of my understanding of my own beliefs. I'm thankful Judd is fat and loves to laugh, because how else would I be able to pick on kids with Down's syndrome? And last, I'm thankful to Bailey, for being the Batman to my Joker, always clinging to the hope that I'm not completely evil on the inside, and enduring my endlessly attempting to corrupt his incorruptible morals.

1.) My Immediate Family - Thank you to my Mom has always been there to support me through the worst times and cheer me through the best times. She has been the constant compassion in my life, and without her, I would be half as happy as I am. My Dad taught me to not only be a hard worker, a quick thinker, and a straight talker, but he also taught me how to take yourself seriously (earlier in his life) and how not to take yourself too seriously (later in his life). My brother will always be my big brother, and to this day, I still turn into a little kid when he is around. There are so many things that I share with my brother that I have with no one else (like the names of our old stuffed animals, decade-old video games that we love, and jokes that no one else in the world will ever get). Nothing comes close to them, and it cannot be said how my family has helped me become who I am. And last, and certainly the most, my baby Gizmo, for being the cutest doggy ever, and loving me unconditionally despite all the annoying things I do to him (pull his tail, play with his face, pick him up when he doesn't want to be picked up).