February 3, 2010

Today, I am grateful for….

1. Job security
2. A great part time job that gives me constant contact with creativity of the highest order
3. My new Macbook - I now believe the hype
4. Some semblance of financial security after some scary and lean years
5. Jessica - everyday I am surprised at how much we love each other
6. Not worrying about where my next meal is coming from
7. Facebook being an easy means to keep in touch with friends all over the world
8. How exciting this year is shaping out to being
9. Simon Cowell’s smile when he’s pleasantly surprised by an audition
10. Bob Mirakian’s wit and intelligence
11. Drinking on a weeknight
12. Adam Carolla podcast
13. The wonders of braising
14. How much Jessica and I make each other laugh
15. Reconnecting with old friends
16. Breathing
17. Any form of nuanced thinking
18. Soon dubu jigae
19. Keeping my cynicism in check
20. Still not completely believing in the concept of being comfortable
21. The pectin in carnaroli rice
22. The ability to have some fucked up and entertaining dreams
23. Having a washer and dryer in our apartment
24. Mike Ross, the director of Krannert Center
25. Foreign languages
26. Anonymous surveys
27. Life forcing me to multitask
28. The juices from reconstituted dried mushrooms
29. Anthony Bourdain!
30. Dal
31. Keynesian economics
32. The surprisingly effective cheap ass Jockey base layer
33. Under Armour
34. The rush of positive thoughts and feelings I have every time I see Jessica
35. Tiki
36. Living Colour
37. My smart and talented friends old and new
38. My increasingly reliable intuition
39. My Brita filter especially on those days when Illinois Water decides to put WAY too much chlorine in it
40. The music playing in my head – Brahms Violin Concerto
41. Comedy Central Roasts
42. Competent and dedicated coworkers at both of my jobs
43. How great I feel after riding my bike to work
44. Not getting caught up by Super Bowl hype
45. This computer stand from Ikea
46. The fact that our DVR still works even though our cable doesn’t
47. Old Time Meat and Deli
48. The smell of laundry straight out of the dryer
49. Jessica's cute faces
50. Men of a Certain Age even though it scares the shit out of me at times
51. Hump day
52. How Jessica can pick me up when all seems lost
53. Vanessa Williams redeeming herself after her traumatizing duet with Pavarotti on SNL years ago
54. Random Boston jokes on 30 Rock
55. How surprisingly amazing of an actor Ray Romano actually is
56. How good of a listener Jessica can be
57. Google Wave
58. Robert Schumann
59. Clothes that fit me even though I’ve gained too much weight
60. Bill Simmons
61. No longer worrying if today will be the day our car will completely fall apart
62. My new Ted Baker glasses
63. The moktak that my mom sent me
64. The copy of the Korean Zen Buddhist prayer CD that my mom made me
65. Nail clippers
66. How good cracking various joints feel
67. My new earmuffs that don’t mess up my hair
68. Jackson 5 version of "Who's Loving You"
69. The fact that my seasonal excema is finally subsiding
70. Everything I have yet to learn
71. My passion for music slowly returning
72. Alliteration
73. Fart jokes
74. This week’s Ugly Betty
75. Our Simmons Beautyrest
76. My cautious optimism
77. How my fingers smell after cooking
78. Making it through work without the aid of caffeine
79. The bizarre yet surprisingly effective baby talk that Jessica and I have developed for communicating
80. The Tanzanian Peaberry waiting for me at work
81. Sales
82. The new cafeteria service at work
83. The cute names Jessica used for the alarms on my Palm Treo
84. Our various French Presses
85. Jessica's hourglass figure
86. Memories, good and bad
87. The pesto tortellini Jessica got me for a snack
88. Patton Oswalt's Sky Cake sketch
89. My desire to seek out the positve in my life
90. Sensodyne
91. Free floss from the dentist
92. Orthotics
93. Finally having a clean office
94. Not having to worry too much about what to wear for work
95. Having hope
96. The pajamas that Jessica bought me
97. My Brandeis BPA free Nalgene bottle
98. Spooning
99. A new day
100. Completing my third post

Object of my metta practice - myself

Reflection of the Day – I had a really really tough day at work yesterday. When I first learned about metta practice, I was warned that at times, reciting these affirmations can seem mechanical. That’s exactly what it felt like. Only the “peaceful and at ease” part seemed to have helped. My body instantly relaxed after the first time I said it. The 100 was especially tough. I almost thought of just putting “Jessica x 100” because besides her support and empathy, I didn’t have much to go on. I ended up combining the past two days into one. Whoops….