Small surprises

As many of you know I have been unhappy with my job for awhile now. The job, plus my unease of staying in Chicago for another year, and my slow hibernation process as winter sets in combined to make me a relatively depressed person as of late. Deep down I knew this, but I was unaware it was showing on the outside as well. This past Friday I was delightfully shown this fact.

I went out to what I thought was a quick Friday after work happy hour with one coworker and ended up at a "Yay Jessica" party. It was fantastic, overwhelming, and amazingly heartwarming. Two other coworkers joined us to make a party of four and they presented me with a card and a surprisingly large gift to my favorite book store. The card, signed by one more coworker that couldn't make it to bring the total to 4 that cared about me, was filled with encouraging and supportive statements (which I had to read at home because as I knew it would it brought me to tears). It was a humbling experience to say the least. I had no idea that this group of women, who for the most part I usually just thought of as coworkers, noticed this much about me, cared this much about me, and went out of their way to make sure I knew it. I learned that night that I am not the only one who feels the slings and arrows of upper management, I am not the only one overwhelmed at times by the odds against me, and I am not the only one struggling these days. The most important thing I learned is that I am not alone. There is no way to properly thank them, to express truly and fully how amazing and perfectly timed that night out was, though I will do my best to try. It's amazing what 2 hours out with a group of friends can do to revitalize ones spirit. I am truly thankful for them.

Giving Thanks

I'm headed out for the long weekend for some good old R&R back home in my moms house. I probably won't get a chance to get to a computer so I'll do my What I'm Thankful For List right now....
Friends who live in Chicago with family in Madison that I can rideshare with
Hedgehogs under my desk
Finding a last minute video game downtown
4 day weekends
Having almost all my family all in one place, and not living in that place
Internet access at work
A job that pays enough to eat, live, and have a few drinks now and then
Growing up enough to become friends with my brother
Not growing up too much that I don't still love a good comic book
Having friends that live all over the world (though I do miss them very much most of the time)
Growing up as a reader
Having a mother who I'm actually friends with
Last minute mani's and pedi's for the hell of it
A gigantic bed (after sleeping on a twin for a year, a queen feels as big as an ocean)
Heat when I can find it (or make it on my own)
Earth, Air, and Water
Friends with dogs that I can visit
Only having 2 hours of work left!
Cheers and happy thanksgiving to all those out there that stumble upon this!