A Day to Give Thanks

Well my this will be my first Thanksgiving since moving to the US... Of course I am not actually in the US right now as I am on a business trip to Zurich however I am still taking this to heart as my first ever thanksgiving (I had Turkey for lunch and everything).

Aside from the more popularized aspects of Thanksgiving (Eating too much, Football - NFL, and Macy's Parades) there is one fundamental aspect that, whilst being captured in the name of the holiday, I had not really considered until I started working for a US company - Giving Thanks for all the things you have.

This is an interesting idea for me, not least because I (along with everyone else I know) takes so much for granted. If I were to truly list every thing that I am thankful for, it would be a very long list indeed (and would still miss many more things that I ought to include). The list would start off looking like this:

I'm thankful for:
- Being alive
- My parents
- Being able to walk
- Being able to feel
- My eyesight
- Having opposable thumbs

... and you can already see how this would rapidly escalate. So instead I am going to take the gripes, bugbears and all the things that have annoyed me lately and find something in there to be thankful for.

Job
While I may be stuck at the same grade year after year, I am in a new country and an new organisation and with that comes new opportunities. If I work hard and can get on the good side of upper management then there is a very real chance of making some headway. Not to mention I am still working at one of the best companies in the world! And it has given me the opportunity to live in another country!

Friends
I really miss my friends back home but I will be seeing a bunch of them next week and I am getting to meet a ton of new people on this adventure.

Relationship
It seems like I'm about to loose my other half to another timezone for a long time if not forever. I have found an amazing girl and had loads of good times with her. Where the future takes us? Well we'll see.

Housing
Since moving, housing has been a constant uncertainty as I struggle to find a place that is affordable, in a good location and can meet my needs, but I ALREADY have a great place! It meets my needs and is all mine!

I am thankful for all of these things and mostly that I am continuing on my adventures.

- Raggy