The Giving of the Thanks

Hi world. It's turkey time and because I am leaving early tomorrow, this is my Thanksgiving post. I'll be flying out to Utah to spend time with the InLaws, and then spending a couple of days on vacation in Las Vegas with LittleBro. It should be a great time, I'm even planning to play a little off-season golf out there. Anyway, I'll be back Sunday night with a post-Thanksgiving report from the desert.

Without further ado, here are 27 things I am thankful for this year because this is my 27th Thanksgiving on our planet (I don't count the 53 Thanksgivings on my home planet):

27) Imports: It's a great time in life to meet new people. Since last Thanksgiving we've seen Gate, Sarah, GRide (temporarily), Mary, Emily and Kara, among others, move to the Windy City. We've also had the promise of more to come soon (Speedy, BigBro, LittleSis, CuriousGeorge, GRide, and others) and many have moved much closer to Chicago than they've been in a long time (LittleSis, CuriousGeorge, LuckyLiz). Good to have you all here. You're all impact players in life here at the Offering.

26) Exports: Despite only taking 1.5 days of vacation since last turkey day, I've seen long-lost friends and family in NYC, Vermont, CT, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, LA, Orange County, and more places that I can't think of right now. I've also had enormous amounts of visitors in Chicago (Kling, BigBob, JDI, ButtMan, RedCelloGirl, DeRooster, etc). Good to have you all in whenever you can be here.

25) Employment: I complain, but working each and every day on something you find to be interesting, and on occasion challenging, is a blessing. Not many people have it. And if you heard most of the conversations I have during the work day, your impression of corporate lawyers would probably change. It's a good place to work, and despite the jokes, being a lawyer is a pretty good job to have.

24) Derrek Lee: You get it done every day; more importantly, you let your bat and your glove, not your mouth, do the talking.

23) Indian Summer: A great one this year. Not as long as in some places, but that late September to early October weather makes you glad to be alive.

22) Las Vegas: If I could date a city, I'd only have eyes for you.

21) Itunes: First year as my exclusive music management tool. It allows you to make the soundtrack to your life.

20) TheGirl: She's tolerant, tough, and she's going to be legally bound to me this at time next year. Crazy to think about that, but she has shown that she's up to the (very large) task.

19) Jagermeister and Red Bull. If this makes me shamefully fratastic, so be it. Bombs away. And when I can't take any more of that delicious elixer, I become thankful for tequila and Southern Comfort.

18) Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge: Almost 1,000 career tackles between the two of you. You were great leaders and the face of a dominant Iowa team for three years. Good luck to both of you.

17) The Lifetime Hope and Learning Tax Credit: You allowed me to live without credit card debt this past year. We'll never meet again, but thank you.

16) HDTV: One of those things that you can't imagine living without once you get it, like a cellphone, your first car, and the internet.

15) Happy Hour: I didn't really understand the importance of this until I started working 60+ hour weeks.

14) Safety: We had a tough year with tsunamis, hurricanes, and violence directed at Americans at home and abroad. I'm (very selfishly) thankful that my loved ones stayed out of harm's way and I'm even more thankful for the people that are doing their best to stop or alleviate these events (especially CWorrell and WRHIII in Afghanistan. Keep up the good work fellas.).

13) Golf: If I could date a sport, I'd two-time you (by dating football and baseball on the side). But you'd be my number 1 sport. There is no sport that preoccupies my mind more than golf, and I am thankful that I can spend the time and effort I do getting better at this great game.

12) Talent in abundance: This year more than any other, I've seen my peer group realize their talents. From GRide and Gate making their first foray into large-scale M&A law, to TheKeefer becoming the resident poet stud at Johns Hopkins, to seeing RedCelloGirl on national tours with her red cello, to Dolph rising to the top of the heap at UC business school, to Screwsan starting a literary review, to Hansel schooling fools at LSE, to DEK missing Iowa games because he's busy with trauma surgery, etc, etc, etc...I realize that I am in the midst of quite a broad array of talented people and I'm better off for it.

11) Monsters of the Midway: the Chicago Bears' defense is getting me through the disappointment and sorrow that surrounded the 2005 campaigns of the Cubs and Hawkeyes. You guys are just plain tremendous. I am thankful that you are fast, strong, relentless, and play 60 minutes with hate in your heart every single Sunday.

10) Parents: TheMom has been her usual doting, selfless self this year and TheDad and I have had some great times including Cubs games, Kohler, operas, and are up for many more as we ramp up to the Big Day next September. You're both money.

9) Summer in Chicago: This summer was one of the best on record; there were many, many Cubs games, rooftop parties, happy hours, BBQs, and all the things that make this town great in the summer.

8) The Big Ten: The football season for us natives of Big Ten towns is a three month celebration even when your team isn't performing well. As someone born (literally) in the shadow of Kinnick Stadium, this year was no different. Top five football weekends this year, measured by fun, in reference to the Iowa schedule, were: 1) Homecoming, 2) at Madison, 3) at Iowa State, 4) Ohio State, 5) Michigan. Each was a tremendous time in its own right, as were the rest of the games. I'm counting the days until the kickoff of the 2006 campaign.

7) AYCD: Considering how much money I have spent on bar tabs and how many All-You-Can-Drink events we've attended in the last year, I have to be thankful for these. It's all about getting on the trolley, paying your $20, and trying to get your per-beer cost down under a buck.

6) Lakeview: Living in Lakeview is the best. I'm moving in May 2006, and I hope I stay close by. If you're looking for a place to live in Chicago, try my neighborhood.

5) Sensible Leadership: I have never in my life seen a year that was as politically divisive as this last year. I am thankful that we have a few reasonable, principled leaders left. Examples include John McCain, Harry Reid (on occasion), Jim Leach, and everyone's favorite, Barack Obama.

4) Holidays: Like Thanksgiving, love Christmas, LOVE New Year's Eve. Like Christmas decorations. Like giving gifts. Like seeing family. Like doing Christmas night reunions at Vito's. Love the bowl games. Crappy weather, great time of year.

3) Parties: They're my lifeblood. Big, small, loud, quiet, we've had a million this year...going-away, welcome-home, birthday, engagement, Christmas, Halloween, 4th of July, football, baseball, summer, bachelor...you name it. I'm thankful for all of them and for all that we will have in the coming year.

2) The Inner Circles: In life, everyone has some groups of people with which they have enough history that a normal description (i.e. "friends", "family", "co-workers", etc) does not do the group justice. I term these groups Inner Circles and I am thankful for each and every Inner Circle of which I am a part (albeit sometimes involuntarily), including but not limited to theSiblings, the Forum and the Norgesians. You guys and gals know who you are, and you rock.

1) You. The people in my everyday life, shockingly, are largely the same ones that frequent this website and pass it on to other people. So I am thankful that you have displayed the kick-assitude to contribute to my life this year in one way or another, if you have indeed done so. So drink up, you've earned it.

What are you thankful for? Go ahead.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I hope your families are well and you get the holidays started off right. After Sin City chews me up and spits me out this weekend, I'll be back with more.

Tim