Black Friday

Today, on the day after Thanksgiving, I am not shopping. Instead, I am sitting at my desk, eating free popcorn and feeling some residual gratitude. I am thankful that my office provides free popcorn. I am even more grateful that they selected the "Butter Lovers" variety.

It is a "Jeans Day" at work and I am thankful that I don't have to wear dress slacks. No dress slacks also means no tucking in, which is a huge bonus. I don't think tucking your shirt in is ever really justified unless you're a groom or a beekeeper.

I am grateful that "The Men Who Stare At Goats" is finally online.

I am thankful that the especially vivid car chase/gun fight dream I had last night WAS just a dream. I was very pleased to find the family minivan sitting unharmed in the driveway this morning.

I am thankful for my cute wife who, with a giant grin on her face, surprised me and our two young daughters this morning by saying, "Come have pie for breakfast!!" We all squealed with delight and raced to the table. I won.

I am thankful that there is not anything really wrong with my brain or hearing, because I could swear I heard birds all morning. It turns out that the cap on my 2-Liter of "Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi" was just a little loose. The thin stream of CO2 escaping was responsible for the whistling sound.

I am grateful for this cool place we currently live and the sightseeing it allows. On my way to work I drove within 50 yards of a hawk, a coyote, a peregrine falcon, and a camel. No lie.