July 22 – U

363/365 – people to thank who have had an impact on me.  Wow, only 3 more gratitude posts left including this one!!  When I started this journey a year ago, I was a little nervous as to if I would have 365 people to thank.  I didn’t want it to come down to posts such as thanking my mailman for the flyers he delivers in that they were the ones that led me on to some awesome deal!! ; )  Early on in these posts, I started hearing from friends that so and so had made “the list”.  I didn’t understand what that was until I was told that it was my “gratitude list”.  That put some pressure on me to say the least as there was now a “list”.  I didn’t want it to be a list and I didn’t want it to be some type of contest.  Then I heard that some people mentioned they were in the 80s and others were in the 200s!  I do have to make it clear that I haven’t had an order as to who I thank and thus whatever number gratitude post it was has no relation to ranking.  Most posts are the night before or a couple of days before.  Yes, I saved my dad for his birthday as I did with my children for theirs, my mom was first because well she is my mom but save for them and the final two gratitude posts, no one had a day or a number.  The list by the end of Sunday is far from complete.  I could thank another 365 people who got me to where I am today and this is what today’s gratitude post is about – to all of the people I didn’t name and there are hundreds of you that have impacted me!  So many former students, co-workers past and present, family members, inlaws, bosses, professors, fellow students, random strangers, neighbours past and present, friends, backhanded gratitudees (bullies and the like), service providers, celebrities etc, etc – just so many people who have made me who I am and to all of you un-named in this past year, you are part of this gratitude journey just because you were not personally mentioned here doesn’t mean you weren’t recognized by me.  To all the new people that will come in to my life, thanking you in advance as some of you will change and influence me in new ways.  Thank you to all of you who came along with me on this 365 day journey as well.  Your encouragement and support has gotten me to this end point.

January 13 – service oriented

173/365 – people to thank who have had an impact on me. Some of my posts are thought out ahead of time, some are fluid and written in the moment, none of them are written beforehand though. Today’s post came to be based on my interaction of the day. Over the weekend, my Range Rover’s headlight gave out yet again. I texted my service advisor who happened to be a friend from the gym that I worked out at -Arthur S. He instantly accommodated my request and just put me at ease saying it would be taken care of. I have never had a service advisor. I would just take my car into the dealership or some private repair shop and let them do what they had to do and hope I wouldn’t be robbed blind. I’ve never dealt with the same person and established a relationship but with Arthur, this has not been the case. I have to say that Arthur is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. He has a smile on his face and a genuine concern for how you are doing and will have you laughing within minutes. And this is outside of the Range Rover dealership – nothing to do with the job. However, on the job, he also has that same welcoming persona which makes the process that much more smooth flowing. He has been my jedi master in terms of Star Wars and we share the same affection for Orphan Black as well as making excuses for not working out which I am king at!! 😉 We are often quick to complain about poor service but rarely commend exceptional service and hopefully, in addition to my thanks for Arthur being a friend, this post also shows how great customer service is in retaining a person – what a simple smile and going that extra mile does for a person. I try to do that in my life and I think this is why Arthur and I find it so easy to get along. Thank you buddy for giving me advice (don’t sweat the small stuff), taking care of my when I know nothing about my car and validating me for not working out when I can’t. In your honour, I hand over my keys to your trusting hands!

December 17 -star light, star bright, Star Wars tonight!

146/365 – people to thank who have had an impact on me. As thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of people line up to watch the new Star Wars movie – both old fans and new – I’m sure most of them feel that George Lucas or some other person related to the franchise has had an immense effect on them. I know of several people who have anticipated this day for the longest time and I am very happy for them that they have found something that speaks to them. I wished that I had some movie/tv/sports franchise that moved me so – from being able to know every bit of dialogue, to each of the characters and their relations to others, to trivia facts about sets but alas, that is not the case – yes, Orphan Black and Walking Dead I love but nowhere near to the level of Star Wars fans. I am living vicariously through my Star Wars fan friends via their Facebook posts. I revel in their fandom and the passion and joy they share within their community. Seeing and hearing about the anticipation for the movie itself, I am truly inspired by the level of dedication and it’s great to see that something as simple as entertainment can unite people and bring them so much happiness and pleasure. Thank you Star Wars fans for letting me get a glimpse into a world that I know very little about. I hope one day to also find something as meaningful for me in regards to fandom. To you, my Star Wars fans, “May the Force be with you!”