what are you thankful for .. gratitude doesn't end with Thanksgiving

[JoB]

this morning as i read about the king tides this week .. i am grateful that there are no longer human beings camped in a flood zone at the bottom of my hill.

but there are still homeless people on our streets.

I know a lot of you won’t give money to panhandlers…

but you might consider tucking small space blankets and/or hand and foot warmers in your pocket to hand out.

they are literally life savers this time of year.

oh yes.. i am very thankful for the roof over my head and the food in my kitchen and the love and concern in my house.

i have a lot to be thankful for.

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[miws]

I was going to suggest bus tickets, as another thing to pass on to Homeless folks.

However, after visiting Metro’s site, it looks like they have finally followed through on their plan of discontinuing selling bus tickets.

However, if you have some unexpired “Free Ride” tickets that came in the Mail, and are still sitting around, consider giving those to someone in need. Perhaps your local Real Change Vendor.

Another option, would be to buy an Orca Card, to hand out.

The card itself costs $5.00 to purchase, then can be loaded with Bus Fare, minimum $5.00, I believe.

If you choose the Orca option, and your budget allows, please remember that current Metro Fares are a minimum of $2.25, ($2.50 Peak), and that’s if the ride doesn’t cross the Seattle City Limits. There is a two-hour (to the minute!) Transfer “window” allowed by Orca.

And yes, as I mentioned in Jan’s T-Day Thankfulness thread, I’m am thankful for many things, including great friends, and for being (warmly!) re-homed for very nearly a year now.

Mike

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[Breezy]

With the thermometer at my house reading 22.5 degrees this morning, I am thankful for a warm house, a hot cup of coffee, and dogs to snuggle with – oh yeah, and a husband to snuggle with, too!

Thank you for hand/foot warmer suggestions and the Orca card suggestions. Very good ideas to help those who are not as fortunate as us this year.

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[wakeflood]

This is going to sound downright odd to some but I’m VERY thankful that I don’t have a job in sales/customer service – of any kind. Haven’t had any official “sales” component of my work in 15 + years.

It’s not that I can’t do it, it’s that in America – and likely anywhere these days – if you’re in sales or customer-facing, there’s so much pressure to:

-Cover for bad, greedy management who are more interested in maximizing their bonuses than working to make their company better and more responsive.

– Try to sound cool/current representing products/services that are anything but to people who realize this.

– Scratching against your fellow employees just to keep your job that always seems to be hanging by a thread – right where mgmnt wants you.

– Wondering why your company is less interested in building a better mousetrap than it is with buying or being bought by some other company not paying attention to their own business.

You might respond by saying it was always thus. I would suggest that what was once sporadic is now pervasive and ubiquitous.

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[The Velvet Bulldog]

Am I the only one who goes ridiculously over-the-top smiley and friendly to retail clerks at this time of year? I’ve worked retail, and worked a Holiday Season at a major bookstore chain–ugh. I got so frustrated with one guy who completely rude that after I’d taken him to the book he wanted I asked, “So, am I dismissed?” He looked utterly chagrined and apologized.

I’m thankful that I no longer work in retail and have a full-time job after four YEARS of unemployment in a great organization that helps kids.

I’m thankful for friends like MIWS who dog-sit for me! Speaking of which…you may be hearing from me Mike… ;-)

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[wakeflood]

Nope, VB, you’re not the only one. I too, make sure I’m sending a smile and a good thought to those same clerks. You know it helps them get through tough, seemingly endless days and might partially offset the jerks you know they have to deal with.

And it makes me feel good too.

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[miws]

No, TVB, you aren’t the only one. (Although this Christmas is the first in many years that my smile didn’t cause the clerk, and anyone else that I was in line of sight of, to shriek and run in fear, as if Godzilla was tromping through town chasing them).

And I’d be honored to once again dog-sit the young lady that I’m a Proud Funcle to! One caveat though, if your planned time away coincides with any forecast snow, I generally hibernate, since I don’t do well walking on icy, slippery, surfaces.

Mike

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[JanS]

To be honest, I am not the best Christmas “celebrator”. At the first day of winter, right before the holiday, I start counting the seconds being added to each day of daylight, in anticipation of spring. I am grateful that my friends let me do this, that they don’t allow me to become too curmudgeonly. I have always believed that attitude, esp. a positive one, affects us. Negative ones do that , too…I am walking proof. This week I will put up a tree, the first time I’ve done this in years…and will be a little more festive.

And, hopefully, all your wonderful holiday spirits will rub off one me :)

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[JoB]

i am grateful i can visit jan’s tree and don’t have to put up one of my own…

unless of course, i want to :)

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[JoB]

i am grateful to be getting older

the alternative really bites

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[JanS]

what? you don’t want to get younger? lol…

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[JoB]

janS..

i can’t believe i am saying this…

but no, i don’t want to get younger

i would love to have a body that works better back

but i wouldn’t take the emotional roller coaster or lack of understanding that went with it…

so there you go

context matters

and there is nothing like longevity to provide context :)

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[Lindsey]

This year, I’m really thankful for all the closed doors and wrong turns and rejections I got, because those things were actually steps towards what was right for me and my family! We didn’t get the first house we wanted, and that ended up being a good thing. I didn’t get the job I first wanted, but I got a better one. And I’m so thankful for my healthy, happy baby boy. It’s been a great year.

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[wakeflood]

Congrats, Lindsey! Sounds like you got nice check from the karma bank account that you obviously had been building up over the months/years? :-)

I’m hoping for something similar in the coming months. Turned down what was on its face a very good gig in a desirable locale on the notion that what I’m building here will bloom even more fully this coming year. Fingers crossed. Gulp. Hope my account is flush. ;-)

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[JoB]

wake.. a flush account doesn’t always guarantee a flush result… but i will add my prayers to those you have already generated that this choice will work out well for you .. as it has for Lindsey

today i am grateful that the electricity is on.. warming my home

but not so grateful that i am not going to go out to make sure i have plenty of hand warmers for me .. just in case

i have already given out what seemed like a bottomless supply of hand warmers in the past couple of days :(

i am so very grateful to have a warm home and warm clothing and ….

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[miws]

Bump

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[wakeflood]

It makes me feel good for those involved…and discomforted that I can only do so much for the many others who I wish could also get similar blessings – especially during the winter/holiday months.

Thanks for the reminder to do more!

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[JoB]

wake..

i don’t do much

i’ve been too sick to tromp the hills

and i am not sure i would spend my energy there now if i could.

but i do what i can

and i hope that is enough

there is a group in town that posts on Facebook as Homeless in Seattle…

an architect/photographer and friends who highlight one story at a time and offer the opportunity to help that one individual in a very specific way

for the most part that is what i have been doing privately that has been successful

helping one individual with one roadblock at a time

i think he does a lot

because he leverages his energy in the most effective way possible..

He has a go fund me site to fund the non-profit he is putting together called Facing Homelessness

if you haven’t already.. you might check this out

http://www.gofundme.com/FacingHomelessness

his work inspires me.

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[wakeflood]

Thanks! :-)

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[TanDL]

bump…

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[Author]

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