I just came from celebrating Thanksgiving with my family, after so many years of not doing it. (In the Philippines where I came from and have lived a good deal of my life at, it's not celebrated.) As Kyan Douglas of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame said in a Thanksgiving episode, "We don't count calories; we don't watch what we eat, but we do give thanks." And that's what I would like to do.I'm thankful that I'm here in the land of opportunities, despite the collapse of the stock market, the doomsday predictions (that I think are seriously over exaggerated...blame the American's tendency to catastrophize everything), and the fact that I left a great job back home to start anew.
I'm thankful that I continue to do what I love, and that I get good money doing so.
I'm thankful for my family, who despite the same financial circumstances, have remained in good health and are doing well in other aspects.
I'm thankful for Bill, Deanna, Devin, Jess, and Rob, my friends here in the US, for always showing me a good time. Alain, Charl, Adam, Benj, Mariel, and Shane, my friends who are in other states (and Ann, my friend from London), I also am thankful—and I can't wait to visit you in your home states when the right timing presents itself!
I'm thankful for my friends in the Philippines—I would not name you all, because it's quite a list—for still keeping in touch, saying hi, leaving messages in Facebook, and generally being the awesome bunch of people that I've known. Maraming salamat.
Et finallement, chére Supermawdel, merci beaucoup. Nous nous connaisons depuis huit ans, et on continue être des amies exceptionnel. Il y a peût-etre 10 000 milles entre nous, mais rien n'a changé. Tu es vraiment speciale, et pour ça, je suis très reconnaisant. Groses bises! (Apologies if my French has structural errors!)
Turkey image from www.igourmet.com.