Reasons to Be Cheerful

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Show something you're thankful for this year. It doesn't have to be the thing you're most thankful for; even the little things count. But of course, picture whatever you'd like.

Faced with a similar question list year, I talked about John, and how I'm thankful he still puts up with me. He doesn't allow me to post photos of him, however. At this moment I can't really use the word "thankful" in connection with the other member of this household, Tuffy, for obvious reasons. So let's proceed to the next layer of gratitude, shall we?


Remember all the changes in my life that I was going on and on about the other night? Well, not all of it was bad news. Of all that's happened over the last several months, the thing I'm most thankful for is that in the whirlwind jobs interviewed for, jobs offered and jobs taken in the wake of FMFC's collapse, I was only unemployed for a total of eight days. I stepped into my current job directly from the temporary one at - what did I call it here? - Anonymous Regional Retailer (ARR!). In celebration of the fact that I have a good job with interesting work, decent benefits and a very nice boss, here are (I think) the first pictures I've posted of my office at Famous Vehicle Dealer. Yes, that's another thing I'm thankful for - I have my own office instead of a cubicle.

In this first shot, nearly everything on the gray board thingy is left over from my predecessor. My only addition is the plastic spiderweb, left over from Halloween. The office is so bare that I decided to leave that up. The clock radio on the right, on which I haven't bothered to set the time, I brought in just recently so I can play the Doctor Who Series 3 Soundtrack through headphones. I'm sure I'll eventually bring in more music, but right now I only have 3 CDs at work, one of which I tend to pop out and listen to in the car as well. "The Carrionites Swarm" has become the soundtrack of my heroic attempts to drive to and from work in heavy rush hour traffic. Incidentally, I ordered a commercial copy of the CD online over a week ago, but the vendor has neither shipped it nor provided a reason why my order is "on hold." I assume it means they either are out of it or never had it. Phooey.

My desk again. Messy already! But actually the papers are organized into related piles. Sort of. The box on the floor is for shredding and recycling.

Notice the bare walls. I brought in my Mary Poppins calendar, but that doesn't do much to fill up all that sterile blankness. It's also not a very good calendar, but that's beside the point. Now that my predecessor is gone, I could decorate, but with what? I'm not exactly going to hang my 30" x 24" pastel portrait of the Eighth Doctor. What can I possibly bring in that's both professional-looking and relevant to my interests? And there's this, too: I somehow managed to leave irreplaceable photos (and replaceable printouts) at FMFC on that last sad morning, and never got them back. I think maybe that's making me hesitate to bring in photos now. I do have Tuffy on my computer desktop, though.


One bit of decor that did make it from FMFC to FVD can be seen from the doorway. Can you spot it and identify it?

Yes, it's Zorro! My hero reminds me to be bold, clever, just, and ethical. That's a lot to live up to, but I try. I have to admit, I'm not so good on the boldness.

Karen