3/9/17
i'm thankful that though i had an unpleasant convo that wouldn't end with an unpleasant customer yesterday, overall my new job is really great. i'm thankful to know that though customer service is probably always going to include at least the occasional unpleasant conversation, i can accept this and my work mentor has been helping with strategies for managing them. i'm thankful that d has noticed that i'm happier and i'm thankful, even though of course it's hard to be new at a job, to find myself not feeling angry or sad all the time like i was at my old job. i'm thankful that at this job, i can focus on one user's issue at a time, reply to it, and move on to the next one, whereas at my old job, a major part of the unpleasantness was the sense that i was having to look at so many things at once, playing wack-a-mole to try to deal with the most dangerous fires first (i'm thankful for mixed metaphors). i'm thankful for the solace of focus.
i'm thankful for the fancy noise-cancelling headphones i bought with my work expense account. i'm thankful for the magic of noise-cancellation, which is subtle but powerful (i'm thankful that one of my coworkers, who has the same headphones, said that they "make the world feel softer," which is an accurate description). i'm thankful to be listening to more music during the day, which i think is good for my mood, but i'm thankful also to just sit in the soft silence of cancelled noise. i'm thankful that the bed of artifacts of the noise cancellation process, barely audible when there is no music playing, make me think of the sound of the ocean in the distance. i'm thankful for the softness of the ear cups and the light but sturdy feel of the headphones. i'm thankful to try to treat them well and to hope they last a long time.
i'm thankful for this thread of work by filipina artists. i'm thankful for nine hours of women in electronic music. i'm thankful for michaela coel's shaved head. i'm thankful for this instantly iconic photo. i'm thankful for decisive moments. i'm thankful for this photo from 1979. i'm thankful for anti-fascist woodcuts. i'm thankful for images as resistance. i'm thankful for this condensed metafilter thread about emotional labor.
i'm thankful for kim k's excitement about an all-pink bag of starburst. i'm thankful for a convo i had with chloe about peeps-flavored oreos (her verdict: "they tasted pretty much like regular golden oreos. all in all a fun experience") and to have shared with her my dream of a whitman's sampler of novelty oreo flavors. i'm thankful to have eaten the last of the cookies that d made, which were wonderful, even if i made the mistake of storing the cookie plate near some old bananas so that they picked up a whiff of the smell of old bananas by the end. i'm thankful to agree with nigel slater that a "slice of commercially made chocolate cake might not be as good as a home-baked one, but it's better than no chocolate cake at all." i'm thankful that on tuesday night, we went over to a coworker's house and had a nice time with he and his wife; i'm thankful that i actually really enjoyed the shepherd's pie he made, even though i don't like mashed potatoes or "brown food" generally and was kind of dreading it. i'm thankful for the fun conversations we had and for their adorable golden retriever puppy.
i'm thankful for the secret to effective writing (even though i don't use it, by choice). i'm thankful that it's thursday. i'm thankful that at my old job, my favorite coworker once referred to thursday as "friday eve" and after that she and i would always wish each other a happy friday eve every thursday morning. i'm thankful to miss her and to take this memory as a reminder that i need to make more of an effort to stay in touch with her. i'm thankful it is friday eve and i'm thankful we are having burritos for dinner tonight. i'm thankful that i feel like my burrito wrapping technique has really improved, as has my heating and reheating timing to ensure that the contents stay at the ideal temperature while eating. i'm thankful to always aspire to good wrapping and ideal temperatures, in burritos and in life.
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to thank you notes: