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things to be thankful for

Time to reflect: 100 Things I’m Thankful for in 2011

Thanksgiving already?!?!  There are lot’s of reasons this year flew, but mainly it’s been driven by family, friends and my career which has made 2011 fly by.  2011 has been fun and full of memories which I couldn’t have imagined would have taken place this year.

Since it’s Thanksgiving, that means I get the opportunity to do what my 5th 100 Things I’m thankful for post, which is my favorite post of the year.

 

  1. My family which just keeps getting bigger – kids, parents, brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews and my wife
  2. Watching all my kids grow closer as friends
  3. My automagic coffee maker which greets me everyday with fresh coffee when I’m home
  4. That kids provide a consistent reality check
  5. Breakfast at Chompies
  6. A crisp sunny fall morning.
  7. A block of time just to curl up with the kids and catch up on Umizoomi
  8. The way Hadrian slowly wakes up every morning
  9. That Kevren and Dijouri are setting goals already
  10. Catching up with Friends when on the road
  11. A morning walk
  12. A house full of dogs and kids with the BBQ going
  13. The day I realized that I really don’t have to respond to a given email in real-time
  14. Netflix, regardless of their price increase make my life easy – let’s watch Pocoyo again!
  15. Catching up on TV on a dreary day
  16. When I actually get time to use my iPad when I home
  17. Watching Hadrian try and swipe at the TV like an iPad
  18. The day I realized that gravity always wins
  19. The weekend I just lost to Cut the Rope
  20. A user interface that doesn’t require any documentation
  21. That I still believe most people are kind and mean well.
  22. Free Wireless in the airports
  23. Every time I get asked to be a mentor
  24. Opportunities to talk metrics
  25. The Georgia climate, I know it’s hot in August, but it all is forgotten on a sunny day in February
  26. Steamed asparagus
  27. Every time I get the opportunity time to read to my kids
  28. Instagram
  29. The folks that read spatially relevant
  30. Layovers I can actually enjoy
  31. Sunrises cresting over mountains
  32. Ideas that work
  33. Ideas that don’t work and learning from them
  34. Small businesses
  35. Any opportunity where I can teach someone something
  36. Going out to dinner with the kids at the local diner.
  37. Sleeping in to 6:00 am – it keeps getting earlier every year!!!!
  38. The day I realized most of the things that pop up in life are just noise
  39. Going to an aquarium
  40. Every chance I get the time to enjoy a city when I’m on the road
  41. That I was able go do fun stuff on Halloween this year with the family
  42. Walking on a beach
  43. Sunsets over the ocean
  44. Going the High Museum of Art on a weekend morning
  45. Being home and having nothing to do but chill
  46. Every meeting which starts on time
  47. GoGo Inflight wireless
  48. That everyday I have the opportunity to help solve problems
  49. Sunny Days with big fluffy clouds where I can imagine shapes with my kids
  50. The day I just decided to have an omelette this year for the first time
  51. Watching live music with friends
  52. My dogs – Lilly and Tewsy, plus the neighborhood dog Lucy which hangs out 16 hours a day.
  53. Every time I am reminded that history is important.
  54. Taking the time to walk to all my flights at hartsfield jackson
  55. Naps
  56. Watching my teenagers grow up, learn and become responsible.
  57. Any chance I get to catch a baseball game.
  58. A good bottle of random wine.
  59. That all my kids take every opportunity to learn new things
  60. Every chance I get to blog
  61. Playing Plants vs. Zombies
  62. Engaging discussions with the folks I work with
  63. 2 week long Words with Friends games.
  64. That Atlanta has such an active product management community with TAG PM and ProductCamp ATL
  65. The team at Pragmatic Marketing
  66. Traveling to new places
  67. That I’m able on most days to wake up excited and go to bed fulfilled.
  68. Everyday I have the opportunity to learn something new
  69. Every time I don’t forget stuff in a rental car – glasses again!
  70. Not having to travel for Thanksgiving this year – four years in a ROW!
  71. Each time I read a quote which just makes me think
  72. Every time I get the opportunity to have a thoughtful discussion
  73. Every time I get an amazing meal when I least expect it – that Marriott in Colorado has amazing catering
  74. Dinner with friends
  75. That most days I have no surprises and when I do, I’m up for them
  76. On time departures
  77. Cooking dinner with Emily for friends and family
  78. Desert bacon – thick cut bacon with brown sugar and orange zest – mmmm
  79. Finding that zone when writing a blog post.
  80. Shark week
  81. When the coffee maker in my hotel room actually works.
  82. Every chance to catch up with those folks I’ve been hanging out with for the last decade
  83. A good book which I can put down.
  84. 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep where I wake up on my own volition.
  85. When I don’t leave my coat in my car before I fly north
  86. Volunteering with my kids in the community on a Saturday
  87. Farmers Market – Phay does amazing crepes at the Alpharetta Farmer’s market – www.crepecottage.com
  88. Listening to talk radio on my way to the airport
  89. The rare occasion of watching live TV, instead of DVR content.
  90. All the people that help me along the way in life
  91. When I find a nugget of information I wouldn’t have thanks to folks I follow on Twitter
  92. Anita who kindly volunteers to watch our kids so Em and I can have a life
  93. Catching up with folks IRL who I only know online when I’m on the road
  94. Any chance to take a ride in the country side
  95. That my mom understands when I forgot to give her a call on her birthday because I was on the road. Thx mom!
  96. Every time we random into a small town festival and have time to just stop and mill around
  97. Any opportunity to share a happy moment with friends or family.
  98. Google Maps
  99. That I can get most of my holiday shopping done online without issue
  100. Any chance I get to tell a story which can help someone improve or avoid a pitfall I’ve hit before

Hopefully you are spending time with people you care about and sharing a great day with others!  If you are one of the randoms that show up thanks to Bing and Google, welcome and thanks for stopping by.

Have a great and safe Thanksgiving!

 

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November 23, 2011 by
(3)

100 Things I am Thankful For – circa 2009

photo.jpg by you.

So this is my third installment of 100 things I am thankful for, the original continues to be the most active search post on spatially relevant and this always is favorite post to write every year.

The terms vary from funny things to be thankful for to what kid’s should be thankful for.  Regardless, this is the most rewarding post to write every year.

  1. My family – it just keeps getting bigger and bigger – better and better
  2. That big brothers take care of the other siblings
  3. That twins just know what to do
  4. The peaceful early morning drive to the office
  5. Frost in the country
  6. Coconut curry soup
  7. That the University of Michigan Medical Center doesn’t suck at any thing they do.
  8. That I will not achieve Gold status on delta this year and probably next
  9. The cheese in Spain is about the best anywhere
  10. The fact that Spanish wines are insanely cheap, compensates for the cost of cheese 😉
  11. Time off with no internet access
  12. A cab driver who doesn’t talk to me
  13. The ability to see the mountains everyday
  14. That my friends stepped up on the club seats for New Years with Panic
  15. That big brothers take care of all the other ones
  16. Pleased when people understand the difference between hallucinating and vision.
  17. Wireless on a plane, but only kinda.
  18. That Ron, one of my mentors, recovered from his stroke fairly quickly.
  19. That Chattanooga is about as pretty as anywhere else on an overcast day
  20. Hulu – at least when I am in the United States
  21. A new tie
  22. Fringe, the TV show
  23. Julia, the nurse with the Jello
  24. Karen, the nurse with the infectious optimism
  25. My readers
  26. The crew in A2 (Chris, Patti and Drake)
  27. Waking up to fog and just knowing the mountains are still there
  28. Any day Em doesn’t have a saved segment of Dr. Phil backing her up on something.
  29. My friends in and around the greater San Francisco bay area (Ruslan, Rick, Chris, Mark)
  30. That science continues to advance and the Discovery channel tells me so
  31. New Socks
  32. Working from home
  33. My new grill which is just way too much for the average steak, but I still use it
  34. Skype
  35. Emily’s cooking, specifically her pork paprikash and whatever new thing she has discovered online.
  36. The Hadrian Snuggle Mood every morning
  37. That Jen is a great mother of Kevren and Dijouri and a friend
  38. Everyday I have the opportunity to just take in the scenery, like colors
  39. The beach, not a lake beach, but a Gulf beach more than anything
  40. Catching up with Friends when on the road
  41. Old Town Madrid
  42. Not having to travel for Thanksgiving this year, 3 years in a row!
  43. My external hard drive which has over a decade of junk on it.  I just might need that presentation from 2001 for something
  44. That my parents, although grumpy are still good folk who I need to talk to about stuff. Wisdom is a good thing
  45. Not having to travel for Thanksgiving this year – three years in a ROW!
  46. That I still have my atlas from my 18th birthday, it has a SIGNIFICANTLY less pages now thanks to my kids
  47. That Em and I did actually get out to see some music this year that wasn’t Thomas the Tank Engine
  48. The moment I realized that there IS a speed limit on the autobahn and only got 1 ticket
  49. That the SEC has just crazy good tailgates
  50. A Sunday afternoon drive with the family
  51. That my kids trust me enough to actually “friend” me on facebook – SUCKAS! 😉
  52. That Auburn didn’t win and I was asleep by the end of the game
  53. That Ken’s 40th birthday party was not just good for him, but me as well.  Great to see friends and talk to adults.
  54. Watching Dijouri think
  55. Watching Kevren with his little brothers
  56. Watching Prescott dance
  57. Watching Hadrian “cook”
  58. I am well within 60 days of no more diapers until I am a grandparent
  59. A perfectly smoked turkey (fingers crossed, doing my first one today!)
  60. The day I realized that personal email is more or less junk, so no need to manage it
  61. Days when the clouds roll into my backyard, not that high up, but enough to get the occasional low lying cloud roll in.
  62. That I actually rented my old house for 2.5 years on a single lease.  2009 the Year of the Slumlord
  63. That Hannover, Germany, while not seen as a hotspot is filled with good people
  64. That Cold Play just happened to be in town when I was on a trip
  65. On time and on budget feature delivery.
  66. That most people are thoughtful, kind and mean well.
  67. Real life conversations with kids or adults
  68. Insights from My Twitter Stream
  69. Free Wireless
  70. That a broken iPhone can be easily transitioned in an iTouch for the kids
  71. That most people can still smile, even during hard times
  72. That Patti still has that special way of making me feel special after 15 years
  73. Looking at Canal’s can just make any day better
  74. That Prescott and Hadrian are pretty good friends
  75. That Kevren and Dijouri are pretty good friends
  76. Every chance I get to golf, I have to get ready for senior tour after all
  77. Street Musician’s with really good instruments
  78. Watching folks who worked for me in the past doing well.
  79. That I have time to read to my kids
  80. That Kevren and dijouri take the time to teach their brothers stuff.
  81. That rare reality when leftovers actually taste better the next day
  82. The recurring reality when Emily sneaks leftover ingredients in and doesn’t tell me
  83. The fact that I have 2 back up set of head phones in my briefcase, just in case Hadrian pulled one out
  84. That a day on the Hooch is as good as anything, just bring sunblock.
  85. That I have time to read to my kids
  86. Layovers I can actually enjoy
  87. Ideas that work
  88. Ideas that don’t work and learning from them
  89. Any opportunity where I can teach someone something – kids included
  90. Sleeping in to 7:30 am
  91. That it all works out in the end, no really does.
  92. Grey Goose and Red Bull
  93. That steak at Bones with John and John
  94. Every chance I get the time to enjoy architecture
  95. When I have extra room in my bags to compensate for the clothes I have to buy because I didn’t pack right
  96. Entertaining Tweets which pop up when I’m in a meeting and make me laugh out loud and then have to explain it.
  97. That Sheryl seems to always have what I need on her hard drive
  98. The other contributors here who make Spatially Relevant Better everyday than I can alone
  99. The random call, text, hand written note, facebook poke or other outreach that confirms we are all still connected
  100. Any opportunity to share, listen and be with people I care about

photo by you.

November 26, 2009 by
(3)

2008: 100 Things I am thankful for

photo.jpg by you.

So after a year since the last Thanksgiving post I have anxiously awaited the 2008 version of my things I am thankful for post. This post is perhaps the most grueling, enjoyable and fun to write.  The list clearly will include similar and exact things from the last one, but that makes sense since gratitude and appreciation should be fairly consistent.  So while it’s been a very busy year, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a bunch of new folks, to try and work on who I am and to try better understand what is actually important.  I hope you have a bunch of things to be thankful for and another full year of opportunity to find new things to appreciate.

  1. My family (all 3 generations)
  2. The Community coffee mug I got this year,  It’s got a great heft.
  3. Spring Time Panic – didn’t get the chance to see Panic at all during the spring of 2008.
  4. Seeing “Greatest” Hits Live Music Shows (I got AC/DC in about 2 weeks!)
  5. Being home
  6. When the batteries die in noisy toys and they mysteriously disappear
  7. On time departures
  8. Sunny Days
  9. A brisk morning walk (the 3 or 4 i get to do a year)
  10. The fact that I almost know how to get around Phoenix now.
  11. Catching up with Ron Kevren at least 1 time a year
  12. Dijouri’s ability to experience pure joy from anything in life
  13. Prescott’s ability to watch something other than “Thoas da trein” on tivo, like “srak”
  14. I still like kids with afros, but have come to not like dreadlocks, I’m so glad that love is hair independant.
  15. That sometimes your wife does just deserves a day at the spa.
  16. My dogs still are cool
  17. Cool maps, like my 1932 relief map of Europe which I can’t seem to get back after 8 years.
  18. A show at the Tabernacle
  19. Sancho’s broken arrow in Denver IS the best bar on the planet with a great ambiance, if you can call it that.
  20. Waiting for the train at Hartsfield to take me to baggage claim
  21. Naps
  22. Watching my kids grow up, learn and change.
  23. A good bowl of soup
  24. My mentors (Ron, Ken, John and Jim)
  25. Golfing when I can
  26. Farmer’s Market Saturdays
  27. The pre-school Prescott goes to, it’s kinda cool being sorta a Methodist, since it is a GREAT school, I guess we should go to a mass.
  28. Mountain weekends thanks to Joan
  29. Being able to have actually gone on a sales call in the US with my friends from the UK – they brought their usual cheer and weather – see below.
  30. That I had the opportunity to speak in Calgary this year and now some kid is getting a scholarship in my name.
  31. The fact I actually made platinum last year, so this was a little premature.  I like being platinum, if you have to fly, upgrades on nearly every flight are cool.
  32. Playing Guitar hero and Wii Fit with my kids
  33. That my facebook network has really become about friends, not just randoms
  34. The connectedness that social media provides with my extended network of friends
  35. Looking at my setlists on my iPhone
  36. That I have friends that do good things
  37. That I don’t mind a juice box every now and again
  38. That Emily is usually right and I now just accept it
  39. When Kevren explains to me just right he is, but typically is just trying to get me to say yes to something, but ultimately understands when I don’t go along
  40. Emily’s cooking, specifically her pork paprikash – this hasn’t changed year over year
  41. When Hadrian pukes and mainly misses me
  42. The day I realized that I have no idea what I did before Google desktop
  43. The Chicago Institute of Art
  44. The whole SOB group, those that that are still among us and those that aren’t.
  45. That Jen is a great mother of Kevren and Dijouri
  46. Days I don’t have to shave
  47. That I’m able on most days to wake up excited and go to bed fulfilled.
  48. Everyday I have the opportunity to learn something new
  49. That I was able to sit in a couple of songs and play Conga’s last week for bunch of folks and didn’t suck @ Fat Catz in NOLA on Bourbon St.
  50. That a headline in a newspaper can change your day.
  51. Random phone calls from folks I haven’t talked to for a long while
  52. Understanding that today can be just as good as any day and it is MY choice.
  53. iTunes Genius functionality
  54. Eating with friends on Lake Austin is about as good as it gets.
  55. That a visually appealing dessert actually tastes better, not sure why.
  56. When I don’t forget my mom’s birthday, 2008 was a non-miss – I was the first of the kids to call.  Bonus points for me.
  57. Not having to travel for Thanksgiving this year – two years in a ROW!
  58. That I still have my atlas from my 18th birthday, it has a few less pages now thanks to my kids
  59. That I finally said yes to Burning Man this year.
  60. The moment I realized I should never drive in the UK.
  61. Tailgating at a show with my friends
  62. When Emily calls bullshit on me – I guess that’s why I married her.  It becoming less frequent, I guess l’m full o’ shit.  NAH.
  63. My first Bulldog game and it was a slaughter of Central Michigan University, which was cool.
  64. A Sunday afternoon drive with the family
  65. Watching Dijouri think
  66. Watching Kevren with his little brothers
  67. Watching Prescott dance
  68. Watching Hadrian walk
  69. That most people are thoughtful, kind and mean well.
  70. Jack’s Five-Cheese Macaroni & Achiote Chicken from Z tejas –  Made with bleu, Jack, cheddar, Parmesan and Romano cheeses, finished with toasted bacon gratin.  The Diablo chicken is good too.
  71. That I’m lucky to still have a bunch of friends with the dreamers disease
  72. That I realized that math is an important thing.
  73. My readers and influencers.
  74. The day I realized that creativity and logic are actually peer concepts.
  75. That I can read not only on a plane now.
  76. Real life conversations
  77. The day I complained about SMC and got to develop a relationship with Chris and Kristie
  78. The new professional traveler line at Hartsfield, I should still get a clear pass, but I’m too cheap.
  79. Moments when I have the clarity of thought to acknowledge that I can’t control what happens – only how I react
  80. That I’m clearly not a handy person and should hire most things out.
  81. Watching folks who worked for me in the past doing well.
  82. That going to Lake Tahoe was good idea and the luck to be able to have KISS playing there.
  83. That a day on the Hooch is as good as anything, just bring sunblock.
  84. That I have time to read to my kids
  85. Direct flights
  86. Ideas that work
  87. Ideas that don’t work and learning from them
  88. Sleeping in past 5am
  89. That I am currently buying into the market at a discount (it’s the only way I can deal with it)
  90. That it all works out in the end
  91. The perfectly mixed Sicilian Kiss (1/2 Jim Beam, 1/2 Amaretto, SPLASH of OJ – Shaken over ice, served in a shot glass)
  92. The day you find a really good $35 bottles of wine which is a repeatable purchase
  93. The day you first try a wegyu steak and the second, third, fourth….
  94. The bacon at the Camelback is just as good, well almost as good, as the bacon at the Four Seasons in Maui
  95. When I get to hear all summer long by Kid Rock and thing to myself – since it is pretty much an accurate portrayal of being young in Michigan with a good beat.
  96. That Chris, Sheryl and other folks were kind enough to help with the eBook on social brand management, The Social Marketing Construct.  Never would have gotten done without them.
  97. When I am actually able to see a movie in the theatre.
  98. A funny text message or Tweet which pops up when I’m in a meeting.
  99. When I happen to actually pack the right clothes for the right climate
  100. Any opportunity to share, listen and be with people I care about

photo by you.

Just like the last time, I probably have another 100 things I should be thankful for…. What are you thankful for?  Have a great holiday and be safe!  Cheers!

~jon

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November 27, 2008 by
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