Who wants A YOT? A Year of Thanks Day 1

November is here again and do you know what that means?  Yup, Facebook is packed full of people being thankful for things each day this month.  Usually, I blow it off and don't pay much attention to them.  I mean, so many people do it, they do it each year, and a lot of them are thankful for the same things each year.  2012 is different; this year I feel like doing it.  However, I feel that we should be thankful all year long.  So, I have decided to do a year of thanks.  Each day, starting today, until November 4, 2013, I will write about something I am thankful to have in my life.  Some days it may be something simple and tiny while other days I may have tons to say.   No matter what, there are sure to be AT LEAST 365 things I am thankful for, right? If not, something is seriously wrong with my life and the world.

YOT 1

At first,  I thought it would be super difficult to pick the first thing to be thankful for this year.  There are so many things that I felt a wee bit of pressure to pick just the right thing.  As I sat here, scrolling through my tabs (of Facebook, to keep up with my friends and family, Pinterest to save all of my (and half a million other people's) ideas, StumbleUpon to help satisfy my spontaneity itch, *damn, just pinned something form StumbleUpon to Pinterest*, Ting to (im)patiently wait for them to allow me to use my Windows phone, and Engadget to drool over tech stuff), I realize that  I am thankful to have my laptop and the internet.  Without these two things, this world would be so different.  I remember life without them.  Yes, it was still great.  We went out more, I admit.  We maybe talked a bit more, sure.  But, all in all, it has made our lives so much better.  Today, I can keep up with my sweet friends in Holland, Switzerland, and Brazil without waiting weeks for letters to arrive.  Because, seriously, even back then, it was hard to find time to write letters.

It got expensive to print pictures, especially with as many as I take.  Now, everyone I want to see them can see them on Facebook or so many other internet venues.  No more making 20 copies to send to every aunt and cousin and foreign exchange student (why do you think I have friends in Switzerland, Brazil, and Holland?)  Now, you just email them and POW, they can print them themselves.

Do you remember trying to drive to someone's house while looking at your scribbled directions that you hastily wrote as they rattled them off on the phone? Me too! I got so lost so many times.  Google Maps, I thank you.  Sure, sure, there are times when you end up in a completely strange place that is not at all where you expected, but not often and there are always ways out.  Before, it meant picking up the phone, calling your friend, wait wait wait... calling your friend FROM A PAY PHONE, wait wait wait, let me backtrack, finding a quarter, THEN finding a pay phone, THEN calling your friend (I will admit, I knew MANY more of my friend's phone numbers by heart back then than I do now) trying to figure out where the hell you were and then getting new directions to scribble on the Taco Bell napkin in your car with the gooky pen you found outside of the pay phone booth.

My laptop sucks.  Actually, it is not even MY laptop, it is Omega's laptop.  I complain about it constantly; it is SLOW.  I don't mean like just slow because I am super freaking impatient and want everything right now like Veruca Salt; I mean like  how it feels that last week of school before summer vacation starts sort of slow.  Or sitting in a meeting at work an hour before you are getting off where you don't care one bit about the topic.  I mean sitting in Austin traffic.  Waiting in line to get fried (insert anything, I mean ANYTHING here) at the Texas State Fair.  Yeah, that sort of slow.  But you know what, it is a computer.  It works, even though it is not the way I would like for it to work.  I am typing this on it, aren't I?  yes, yes I am.  

I have a blog.  I can come on here, say whatever the hell crap I want to rant about, put down all my thoughts, and let everyone read it and even comment on it.   I can share my life and my thoughts with everyone in the world.  Not many people read it, I don't think even my husband, Omega, reads it.  But the point is, they CAN.  I am thankful for that.