thank you notes (tj)
i’m thankful for the paper towel dispenser in the men’s room nearest my office. now when i pull down on a starchy, white towel i know that i have to use both hands on each end and drag it out of the metal box slowly to prevent it from ripping in my wet fingers. it was a couple months in this new job before i learned that it takes a kind of patience to extract a towel whole. i’m thankful that that kind of patience and the willingness to learn from error have served me in other areas in this job. i’m thankful for this new job and the amount of writing that I get to do every day compared to my last job where, by the end, i was barely even editing anything--let alone writing. i’m thankful that i was unaware that the amount of paper-pushing project management that i had to do was really starting to eat at me. i’m thankful that i feel so much better than that now.
i’m thankful that i have an office to come to every day now and that it forces me to shower and put on a tie and interact with very pleasant and very smart people. i’m thankful for the variety of challenges that this new career (and i’m thankful that i can think of this job as such) puts in front of me. i’m thankful that I have mostly not let myself be daunted in these last eight or nine months and that i’ve been forced to really see what i can accomplish rather than resting on reputation and routine. i’m thankful that there is a motion-sensitive light in my office that switches off the overhead light if i sit still for too long. on good days when i’m writing a lot or very engrossed in reading something the light will go off and i have to move to trigger the light back on. on really good days it shuts off more than once. i’m thankful that after months of experimenting with various arm-waving techniques i’ve got the motion i need to make to turn it back on down pat.
finally, i’m also thankful that someone i care for has come back into my life. i’m thankful that although that has also brought some emotional complications for me (and maybe for her, i don’t know), they don’t outweigh how nice it is to interact with her again and to give her the kind of attention that lets her know that she matters to me. i’m thankful she wants to know me again.
- tj (4/5/16).
i’m thankful that i have an office to come to every day now and that it forces me to shower and put on a tie and interact with very pleasant and very smart people. i’m thankful for the variety of challenges that this new career (and i’m thankful that i can think of this job as such) puts in front of me. i’m thankful that I have mostly not let myself be daunted in these last eight or nine months and that i’ve been forced to really see what i can accomplish rather than resting on reputation and routine. i’m thankful that there is a motion-sensitive light in my office that switches off the overhead light if i sit still for too long. on good days when i’m writing a lot or very engrossed in reading something the light will go off and i have to move to trigger the light back on. on really good days it shuts off more than once. i’m thankful that after months of experimenting with various arm-waving techniques i’ve got the motion i need to make to turn it back on down pat.
finally, i’m also thankful that someone i care for has come back into my life. i’m thankful that although that has also brought some emotional complications for me (and maybe for her, i don’t know), they don’t outweigh how nice it is to interact with her again and to give her the kind of attention that lets her know that she matters to me. i’m thankful she wants to know me again.
- tj (4/5/16).
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