Gracias. Merci. Danke. Arigato. Obrigado. Xie xie.

This hasn't been a very good year for me... or so I'd like to think. It's really more along the lines of "things haven't been going my way this year." But today I want to force myself to step out of my bitter-box and really reflect on the good things I have in my life. So... I present to you my list of Things for Which I am Truly Thankful. In no particular order.

1. Family. Including the dog. And the extended family (cousins, second cousins, godsons, etc). Maybe I should have listed extended family before dog... lol.
2. Friends... the ones I see every week and the ones I don't get to see as often as I like. They all keep me sane.
3. My job and my co-workers. The pay is bad and I often feel underappreciated, but the truth is... I don't think I'll ever find another "work family" like this one. I will truly miss them when I eventually leave.
4. Weddings. I bitch about "always a bridesmaid, never a bride," but I'm thankful that I have friends who have found happiness. And also thankful that they want me to be a part of their happiness by standing with them on their wedding day. (But I'm not so thankful for the closet of bridesmaid gowns I'm collecting...)
5. My students. I teach them... and they teach me. It's pretty much even. They make me smile when I'm having a bad day. They tell me I'm the "best teacher EVER," and I believe it coming from them. I may be single, but I get more hugs, hand-holdings, "I love you's", and random gifts than many of my coupled friends. Can't get that kind of love from an office job.
6. My health. (No explanation necessary.)
7. Booze. (No explanation necessary here, either.)
8. The apartment. It's not so bad, compared to some other places. And the noisy neighbors are... well, they're tolerable. Most of the time. Even though their TV is currently so loud that I can hear every note of the Thanksgiving Day parade.
9. My education. I'm lucky to have parents who impressed upon me the importance of learning. I've never once taken it for granted.
10. My boobs. They're nice.
11. The unique qualities that make me ME. And the fact that my friends and family love me because of (or in spite of) those qualities.
12. My faith. It gets me through when nothing else can.

Thank you. Seriously. And go be thankful yourself. It feels pretty good.

How I spent my Saturday...

Today I went dress shopping with Jill and the rest of her bridesmaids. After hitting four stores and then discussing the wedding plans over dinner, I decided to continue the theme at home. I was in the mood to sit on the couch in comfy pj's and watch cheesy movies. So I chose "The Wedding Date," followed by "Father of the Bride." And I'm giving myself a pedicure, just for the sheer hell of it.

It's all good.

(And while we're on the subject, I have an alarming number of movies about weddings. I didn't realize that until tonight... The Wedding Date, Father of the Bride, The Wedding Planner, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Wedding Crashers, My Best Friend's Wedding... kinda scary, lol.)

Spooky.

Thoughts and Observations on Halloween 2008...

• Any girl prancing around in a blond wig and glittery dress was presumably attempting to be Hannah Montana.
• Boys' costumes haven't changed much in the past 5 years: Spiderman, Batman, or some version of the Scream mask with all black clothes.
• Older boys don't bother with costumes. They wear jeans and a sweatshirt, carry a pillowcase (or open backpack) and show up on your doorstep for free handouts. Sometimes there's a mask, but it's usually on top of their head, rather than covering their face. I think this is so they can get better view of the plethora of "sexy" costumes their female counterparts are wearing.
• Which brings me to this... There were more 12 year old girls with fishnets and mini-skirts than I cared to see.
• While we're on that... Joe and I had an extensive phone conversation about those particular costume pieces (while I was giving out candy, no less... lol). We decided that pretty much anything can be added to fishnets and a miniskirt to make a "costume." For example: add wings, and you have a fairy. Big hoop earrings and a bandana? A pirate! Wear horns and carry a pitchfork... devil! A tail and ears? Bunny! Doesn't take much imagination to create a costume out of that. (I've neglected to mention that my costume from last year was exactly that... fishnets and a miniskirt. Paired with a red hooded cape and a basket to become Red Riding Hood. Sigh. I've become One of Them.) But seriously... little girls and fishnets are a big no-no. That's what leads to 17 year olds with toddlers.
• Speaking of mommies... it seems to be perfectly acceptable for a mommy to parade around the neighborhood with her itsy-bitsy little bundle of joy (clad in a cutesy-wutesy little costume) and hold out a treat bag. I'm talking 5 month old babies here. Pre-teeth. Who do these moms think they're fooling? I know damn well who's eating that candy. (By the way, my mom's rule of thumb is that the babies get Dum-Dum lollipops.)
• Someone needs to teach kids some Halloween etiquette. Let's start with this: "Trick or treat!" It's simple. Three words. Some kids just walked right up to me, thrust their bag in my face and waited. No eye contact, no smile. And certainly no "Thank you," after the candy was dropped in the bag. And kids? When someone says, "Happy Halloween," it wouldn't kill you to respond.
• Another word about Halloween etiquette. When someone gives you a piece of candy, it's not polite to respond with, "Is that it?" or "Can I have the other kind instead?" And it's NEVER acceptable to try to score an extra piece of candy by lying and saying your brother is in the hospital.
• A word about older trick-or-treaters in general: once you reach high school, STOP. Seriously. You're too old to dress up and collect candy from your neighbors. Go to Halloween parties instead. I actually had three or four adults (not in costume) come up to my door with treat bags. They were walking with a group of children, so I guess they thought they deserved candy, too.

It's no wonder I felt the need to hit the bar after the crowd died down. Screw the Halloween candy... I was ready for beer and wings!