The Christmas 2012 (incomplete) List of Reasons to be Cheerful

(All right, Gurnett. You’re on!)

So Kelly Gurnett posted this list of stuff that she’s thankful for. The Tankful mindset is something I’m trying to get into – especially around the Christmas period – so I thought I’d whip up one of my own!

Without further ado, here is:

A Partial  List of the Everyday Awesome Things I’m Thankful For

1. Google Reader. Without you I wouldn’t be able to keep up with my favourite blogs as well.
2. Yeah, slippers, too. Worn out old pair that keeps my feet getting cold. Vickie keeps telling me to replace them, and I will. Soon.
3. The Foxy Lady. A scooter is an everyday thing, especially around Cairns, but she’s given me the opportunity for quality time with a good mate AND my stepson, and I’m looking forward to replicating Sunday night’s dash up to Trinity Beach with Karl sometime soon! Bring on 2013, the year of two wheels… (And next time, I will take photos! I have smartphone, I shall use it…)
4. My smartphone. I’ve been holding out for ages and finally bit the bullet last month. Thankfully, I’m resisting the urge to go all app crazy, but syncing it with google Calendar has been a huge boon.
   Which leads me to…
5. Evernote. Thank you to Marcus for introducing me to this bad boy earlier this year. I’ve set up a Getting Things Done scheme using it and while it’s not perfect, Evernote + Smartphone = me getting things done a lot more often, especially making the phone calls I need to!
6. Water. It’s steadily replacing soft drinks in my diet, and it plus a little cordial gives me my sweet hit. It’s also great for starting the day off with while writing!
7. Our bookshelves. For holding the mementos of the journeys I’ve been on and the plane tickets for those I’ve yet to take. (Both are called books.)
8. The JFDI sign Vickie put up atop our bookshelves. When I sit at my computer procrastinating, all I have to do is look to the right…
9. The camera in my smartphone. Finally, I have a portable hi-fi camera again! Now, I just have to use it more often. Like when Karl and I take a road trip to Trinity Beach…
10. The Huge Freaking Hill out the back (some call it Walsh’s Pyramid, some Bundajarruga). A big reminder that I’m not in Kansas (or Sydney or the UK) any more. And that no matter how big the troubles in my life seem, it will still be here long after I and everyone I know are gone.
11. The Internet. For not just being a source of entertainment, but also a means of keeping connected with friends old and new – and giving me the opportunity to my friends Marcus and I to create and host our own radio shows.
12. Dropbox. For keeping all my writing stuff synced across two PCs.
13. Television. While you distract me from writing, you still keep my wife and I entertained with Once Upon A Time, Grimm, Castle and Doctor Who.
14. This blog and the Paid to Play Podcast. For keeping me moving on the things I love doing.
15. The car. I know I’m going to be spending more time with the Foxy Lady once I get my full licence, but thank you for being there even when I couldn’t quite afford the maintenance bills – and for not costing as much in maintenance as I feared you were going to!
16. The new air freshener the guys at KW Auto Repairs put in the car. Smells like sweets!
17. Corn flakes. For being there when summer makes oats too heavy!
18. Words With Friends, for giving Vickie and I a game we can play together! (She’s not an Xbox player and most of her games are single player only.)
19. The Xbox 360. Yeah, I dis it sometimes, but the Halo and Mass Effect series and Child of Eden make it worthwhile! Somday I’ll get Vickie doing Zumba Fitness…
20. The backyard – a great source of exercise and something that the results of maintenance are obvious with!
21. The dishwasher: Bravely soldiering on since our friends Dan and Lesley gave it to us!
22. The Cairns Esplanade – a great place to take a quick stroll whenever work gets a bit much!
23. Fear, reminding me that the biggest challenge isn’t outside me.
24. Clothes a size or two too big. Up here, they at least look tropical!
25. The chin bar in the garage. Under-utilised but always there for a few quick chin ups!

    

26. Pens and little pocket notepads. The first step in getting my noggin organised and the best work started! Still quicker than the smartphone and Evernote, and usable in the car at stoplights without earning the ire of the police!
27. The netbook. Letting me crank out six hundred words in my lunch break for the last couple of years!
28. Write or Die. Letting me crank out six hundred words in my lunch break for the last few years!
29. The Cairns Library. Letting me crank out six hundred words in my lunch break for the last few years – and for being a great place for peace, quiet and inspiration!
30. My lovely wife, our two dogs, my family (a particular shout out to Karl, who’s done more for us this year than we can hope to repay) and mates around the town, country and globe!

Links

Kelly Gurnett’s list

Evernote

Walsh’s Pyramid on Wikipedia

Dropbox

More awesome content like this:

Make Time For Those You Love This Christmas! NaNoWriMo 2012: Oh, all right. I give in. Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012

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