Day 8: My New Co-Workers

I've always had pretty good luck with co-workers.  I'm in Missoula this week to help get the Epic training stuff started for the big switch in a few weeks, and I got to meet the rest of my team.  We've been out to dinner every night as a group, and spent tonight playing catch phrase with pizzas and beer at the hotel.

I'm thankful to be a part of such an awesome group!

Day 7: Election Results

I don't think anyone super conservative reads this Blog, so I'm not going to worry about offending anyone. I stay far far away from posting anything political on Facebook, because I've seen some of the nasty things people say to each other through comments. I have a lot of friends on FB that don't share my political views and don't see the point in arguing or losing friends over opposing views.

That being said, I'm glad Obama won, and I hope he'll use his second term more aggressively. I'm glad to see the first ever openly gay/lesbian candidate elected to the US Senate. I'm glad that four states elected marriage equality measures. I feel like marriage equality is at a tipping point and will start getting a greater margin of support in the coming years.

I'm a bit sad that over 6 billion dollars was spent on political marketing, and the country with the same balance of power, and someday I hope we will rework how campaign fundraising is done.

Day 6: Modern Transportation

I'm in Missoula, Montana for work this week and I'm pretty amazed at the ease with which I travelled 550 miles today. Bryann dropped me off (via our car) at the Max station this morning and I took the train to the airport. Then I caught a flight to Seattle, then to Missoula, where I picked up a rental car and drove to the hotel. Total travel time: 6 hours.

By foot: 7 days, 13 hours

By bike: 2 days, 6 hours

By car: 9 hrs, 43 mins

I did good. VERY thankful I didn't have to hoof it - though now I do wish Google maps gave travel time estimates by horse.

Day 5: Clean and Abundant Water

Part of this exercise is to think about the "have"s in my life rather than the "have not"s.  As I took my 10 minute, scalding hot shower this morning, brushed my teeth, made coffee, poured water for Sam, and then walked outside to the rain, I was thankful for living in a place where access to fresh, clean water was not something I ever had to worry about.

Day 4: Being "Laid Off"

And by "laid off" I mean let go by claims that they had budget cuts, allowed to collect unemployment, and learning later on that they'd re-filled my position and several others with someone else.  

But I hadn't been completely happy teaching, and I hadn't been at ALL happy at Cascade.  And I wasn't about to quit my job.  So I'm thankful that I was "laid off" and forced out into the unknown, with unemployment as a safety net, to explore what I was really looking for.  

I've heard the saying a million times about when one door closes, another door opens.  But I heard a comedian on the radio recently describe it more as an opportunity to purge your life of the old crap cluttering everything up.  To clean house in order to be really ready and open to pursuing whatever opportunities come next.  

And so far, I've really enjoyed what came next.  

Day 3 - Family

Family will always be on my list of things to be thankful for.  I have a loving, supportive, functional family, and I'm thankful to be in the same area of the world.  A lot of people live far away from their families (and by far, I mean not within a day's drive) and see them maybe once a year.  I have everyone I'm closest to all in the same state!  My parents are in Klamath, Grandma in Salem, and Reezy, David, and Adam in Portland!  I see the whole gang several times a year  - holiday dinners, brunches, tea parties, back yard BBQ's, birthday parties, beach weekends, etc. 

Granted, some people prefer only seeing their families once a year, but part of what I'm thankful for is that I actually LIKE my family.  No, LOVE my family.  :-) 




Backyard BBQ this past summer with the family!

 

Day 2 - My New Job

I'm enjoying my new role as a trainer at Providence.  Though I haven't actually started teaching classes yet, since my own training won't start until the 13th.  But I'm thankful to be in a healthier work environment.  I'm not being paid with someone's personal check anymore.  There's an HR department.  I have rights and responsibilities.  I didn't realize how PTSD I was from Cascade, but everytime someone says they want to talk to me or that they'd like to schedule a check-in via our chat system, I start having an anxiety attack.  At Cascade, whenever a higher-up wanted to talk to me, it was because they found some newfangled excuse to go on a power trip and make me feel like a terrible, undeserving person.  I'm still recovering, I suppose.  I didn't realize what an emotionally abusive and manipulative situation I was in until I was in something "normal" for awhile.