Completely superficial things to be thankful for

The turkey carcass has been picked over, friends and family have gorged themselves and gone, the mah jongg tiles were played and now put away. It's a quiet day after the fun of yesterday -- we had Enich, Mike, my mom and grandma over for the usual feast of good food. Note to self: shoving garlic cloves into the turkey flesh is really, really nummy.

And so, in this quiet afternoon (armed with hot coca and a croissant), once again, I endeavor to create a list of serious -- and not so serious -- things that I have to be thankful for this year:

Elliott and his smiles, farts and laughter. Aaron T. for taking it to the next level. Jeff's silly jokes, kisses and ability to calm me the hell down. That even though our president sucks donkey balls, we as a people can be really generous and kind when shit hits the fan. Four-day weekends. iPod. QGM's interesting take on the iPod and some "accessories." Erich's ability to be a geek supermodel. Sleeping in until noon. World of Warcraft. Television Without Pity. Not having to go anywhere on a snowy day. Keidra's ability to riff off of my crazy ideas. Raizel's fabulousness. Mythbusters. U2. City of Villians -- it's so good to be bad. Winter boots. Amanda's Musical Decomposition. My mom putting up with my ass. Grandma for being able to kick my ass. Mike for being a good friend to Jeff (and me). Emilie for someone else to talk U2 with. Zonk's Shackled City. Gracie's Kleenex killing abilities. Christy willing to put up with me harassing her dog. Katie's knowledge of children's literature. Alan's precision. Eva's ability to play straight man to my insane ideas. Writer-director Kevin Smith. Brian's anal-retentiveness. Wallace and Gromit (THE! BUNNIES!) Kat's wit. The Transporter. Order of the Stick. Something Positive. Bunny. Two Lumps. Shasta's good writing on race and politics. Katamari Damacy and its sequel. Sid's funny as hell writing (Hope that S.F. is kind to you right now!). Carlos' knowledge of cars. Gen Con. Bucca di Beppo. Dan for introducing me and Jeff to Chappelle's Show. Stella, for being the coolest mom and sister out there. Shaolin Soccer. Wireless speakers. Cleolinda's Movies in 15 Minutes. Mike Mingola's Hellboy. Jenna's smiles and giggles. Allie's "Bitch-you-ain't-funny" look. Guilin's beauty. Ben's vast tracts of knowledge about weird stuff. Moscato di Asti. Joe's Nerdcore. Cherry beer. Shanghai's technology. Abby's hyperness. Beijing's history. Heather's red hair. The Great Wall. Jenno's stories about being a teacher. Shrimp dumplings. Mark N. for his gaming strengths. Nicole for being blood thirsty during games. LAN parties with friends. Mark D. for his pachinko machine. Jeff's parents and the fact that half our furniture is from them. The sound of the furnace kicking in on a cold day (it means that we're lucky enough to afford heat, unlike some folks). Snuggling into Jeff on a cold morning. People's kindness -- it never ceases to amaze me that just when I think we're all morally bankrupt, corrupt and a bunch of assholes, someone does something to reaffirm my faith in humanity.

That should pretty much cover it. If I forgot to mention someone/something/somewhere, it doesn't mean that you're not appreciated -- I just have a shitty memory. Happy T-Day everyone!