It's All About Thanksgiving!

 

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

Today is Wednesday, November 26th, 2025.

By the time anyone reads this, it will be Thursday, November 27th, 2025.

Also known as THANKSGIVING!!!

To me, it's one of the best days of the year.

Food. Everywhere.

Turkey. Stuffing. Gravy. Rolls. Pie. Mashed Potatoes. Cranberry Sauce.

All of the staples, all waiting to be devoured!

Now as much as I'm looking forward to all of that, the namesake of the day is Thanksgiving.

It's a chance to take a step back and think about what you are thankful for.

For me, I can sum it up in one word.

Everything.

I'm thankful for everything.

Being able to have a roof over my head as I type this.

Being able to have access to clean, drinkable water.

Being able to have clean clothes.

Being able to have a reliable car for transportation.

Being able to have a steady source of income from my job.

I take none of those things for granted.

I'm thankful for the happy childhood I was able to have, and it deeply saddens me that unfortunately not everyone is able to have a happy childhood, because everyone deserves one.

I'm thankful for my family.

I'm not just talking about blood relatives.

You may have seen the saying "Blood is thicker than water", but that's not the full quote.

That snippet would make it seem that blood ties should automatically supercede all other ties, no matter what.

But that's not the full quote.

The full quote is actually "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."

"The phrase implies that chosen relationships, like those made through war or friendship, can be more powerful than family relationships. It emphasizes the strength of bonds created by shared purpose and commitment over those based purely on genetics."

This is why the saying "Friends are the family you choose" is so important.

To put it simply, you don't choose your blood relatives, that's a matter of what you are born into.

With friendships, that's a conscious choice, whether it's a blood relative or not, friendship is never "automatic", it's chosen.

It's worked on.

It's something that I never take for granted.

Every friend that you have is in your life for a reason, because you've chosen them to be there.

With me, it's really simple.

You need someone to listen? I'm all ears.

You need someone to keep a secret? My lips are sealed.

You need advice on something? I'll offer everything I have.

You need an honest opinion on something? I won't hold back.

You need a ride somewhere? I'll make sure to gas up my car first.

You need someone to make you laugh? Challenge Accepted. I always win that one :)

You need to go for a walk to clear your head? Let's get our steps in.

You need someone else around just to do nothing together? Let's zone out in sync.

You have a question about Pro Wrestling? I most likely have the answer!

You need a trivia partner? I know a little bit of everything!

That's me. That's who I try my best to be.

Time is the most valubale resource that we have.

So for anyone to choose to spend their time with me, I'm going to make sure to the best of my ability that it was time well spent!

So many memories have been made.

Playing Wiffleball behind the Town Hall after work until 2 a.m., then going to get calzones at D.P. Dough.

Playing Wii Bowling in the basement, where it quickly became a competition within a competiton, all over a comfy place to sit.

Starting off Thanksgiving with some football in the front yard, then taking a break for some star bread and cinnamon rolls, then going back out to finish the second half, regardless of the weather conditions.

Playing Rock Band & Lips for hours on end, just rotating instruments.

Playing 3 on 3 basketball in the driveway.

Having game nights playing Catchphrase and Mad Gab.

Going bowling and throwing a gutterball, and trying to explain how it wasn't on purpose!

Eating all of the food and walking all of the steps at The Big E.

Playing Halo 3 until 4 a.m., then doing it again the next day, and the next day, on repeat.

Riding our bikes.

Christmas Eve at my grandmothers house.

Family birthday celebrations every three months at one of my aunts houses.

Playing video games.

Going swimming.

My incredible lollipop side hustle in High School.

Playing Capture The Flag.

Going Ice Skating every week.

Dominating in Four Square.

Playing Floor Hockey.

Playing Disc Golf.

Being the two time back to back 1994-1995 Woodland Elementary School Four Square Champion.

Just sitting around and talking.

Trips to The Summer House.

Poker Nights with Italian Friendly Pizza, "Hey Guys, Thanks For Coming!"

Taking a picture with me for my Ultimate Photo Album.

All of the engagement on my Facebook Tournaments.

PGI Friday's.

Every inside joke.

Every walk.

Every talk.

Every breakfast.

Every lunch.

Every dinner.

Every outing.

Every laugh.

I could keep going on forever.

But when I look back on each and every one of those moments, I'm just so thankful that they happened, and that I was able to be a part of them.

I'm thankful for all of it, and I always will be.

Andy Bernard from The Office said "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days, before you've actually left them"

I've now figured out that there is a way.

You just have to treat everything in the moment as something that very well may never hapoen again.

Simple right?!

I have been able to take a step back in situations and tell myself "This is awesome, I hope this happens again, but it if never does, at least it happened this one time"

Once you treat situations like that, you're able to appreciate them in the moment so much more.

This little journey called life was never meant to be spent alone

So to everyone who I have been fortunate enough to call a friend, to anyone that has chosen to take time out of their life and spend it with me, thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Until next time!

527 Days After The Last One?!

 

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

Procrastination is my best friend.

If I could invest in procrastinating, I would be a millionaire!

Of course, it would take forever for me to actually invest in it!

Today is Monday, November 17th, 2025.

My last blog post was on Saturday, June 8th, 2024.

That's 527 days between posts.

The post before that was on Sunday, December 11th, 2022.

That was 545 days.

The post before that?

Saturday, April 25th, 2020.

That's 961 days.

That's one blog in 2020, none in 2021, one in 2022, none in 2023, one last year, and just this one this year.

Will 2026 be the year that I consistently start blogging again?!

Let's go with a good old-fashioned "Maybe"!

But in all seriousness, I miss this, and I need to do it more often.

It's cathartic.

I don't get to use that word very often.

But here, I can just type whatever comes to mind.

And unlike in my school days, I don't have to worry about "proper sentence structure."

Like right there, I'm not supposed to start a sentence with the word "and".

AND yet, I've just done it twice.

I write how I think and talk.

I've started plenty of spoken sentences in my life with the word "and".

AND I'm not going to stop doing that just because I happen to be typing those same thoughts!

Don't get me started on colons and semicolons either.

I've looked both of them up multiple times.

I've watched examples of when and where you're supposed to use them in sentences.

And I STILL have no idea when and where to use them, so I just don't.

I've been on this planet for 40 years now, without ever using a colon or semicolon in a sentence.

Somehow, people have been able to understand me just fine!

Listen, I'm sure colons and semicolons have their place in the English lexicon, just not mine!

Moving on, I'd say quite a bit has transpired since my last blog post.

For one thing, as of this writing, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history finally ended.

This one was over 40 days.

Working without pay isn't fun.

Fortunately, myself and all of the other federal workers who have been working without pay will be getting full back pay.

However, even though the government shuts down, life does not.

Bills.

Food.

Utilities.

Child Care.

Gas.

Plenty of federal workers were taking on second jobs to make ends meet.

There were Air Traffic Controllers working for Doordash AFTER their 12 hour unpaid shifts to keep food on the table for their families.

I know a bunch of my coworkers at TSA who have been working for Amazon Flex.

Every September 30th, federal workers wait to see if both sides of the aisle can play nice and keep our government funded, so that we can keep getting paid in real time.

Luckily, it's finally over.......for now.

Come January 30th, we might have to deal with another round of this if both sides can't come to an agreement for the rest of the fiscal year, we shall see.

On a more positive note, Thanksgiving is now less than two weeks away!

It's one of my favorite days of the year.

Star Bread.

Turkey.

Mashed Potatoes.

Stuffing.

Gravy.

Rolls.

Corn.

Cranberry Sauce.

Pie.

And to be clear, I only want the cranberry sauce that comes from the can, with the ridges in it from the can, and not with any of the cranberries in it.

Turkey also gets overlooked, even though it's the anchor.

I think a lot of you out there are just having dry Turkey, and that's why you don't give turkey the respect it deserves.

If you cook it right, and season it right, it's moist, and delicious.

Plus, Gravy goes on the Turkey and Mashed Potatoes.

That's non negotiable.

Keep the Gravy coming.

And then when it comes to the pies, I want the fruit pies.

The pies with a top crust.

Blueberry.

Cherry.

Peach.

And of course, the best fruit pie in all of existence, Dutch Apple.

Pumpkin Pie?

Sweet Potato Pie?

Squash Pie?

If I have even ONE slice of any of those three "pies", it's just because I'm being polite.

There's not enough whipped cream on the planet to cover up that actual taste of them.

My stomach only has so much real estate, and I'd rather invest in the GOOD pies, please and thank you!

You also won't catch me just shoving everything onto one plate.

There's levels to this.

Different foods have different textures and flavors.

Some compliment each other.

Others contrast each other.

I don't need or want everything in one bite.

So when someone is like "can I make you a plate?", I usually pass.

Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate the gesture!

BUT, there's a system in place, MY system!

What goes where, how much of it, what's going to be on the first plate versus the second round, it's a whole thing.

I've seen Turkey, and Cranberry Sauce, AND Gravy, all in the same single bite for some heathens out there who will remain nameless.

SHAMEFUL!!

You might be asking "Is there really a wrong way to eat something?!"

Yes. 

Yes there is.

That's like eating Kit Kat whole, instead of breaking it apart.

Just because you CAN do it, doesn't mean you SHOULD!

Yep, this is the catharsis I've missed.

I also had a podcast years ago, I've been meaning to dust that off too, maybe I'll finally do that.

Maybe :)

I'd say this was pretty good for a "first blog post in a while", especially since I was winging it.

But then again, I always wing it!

To anyone who read this all the way, thanks for taking the time to read all of this!

I promise to make more blogs much closer together than every 500+ days!

Until next time!