Giving Thanks

I am thankful for:

• Family
• Shit my dad says: "'Gossip Girl'? More like 'Gossip Bitch!'"; "I HATE cats!"; "Tell Wilson (he meant Nelson, as in Laura Nelson) I said 'What up'."; "What a skunk! (skank)"; etc. etc.
• Illinois Menace, past and present.
• Spicy Tuna, Shanghai HuWa, Team Stanford, G-Spot, Boner Jamz/Senor Briefcase (coming soon ...)
• All the coaches I've ever had in life: Coach Lee, Coach Mark(s, Judycki and Racinowski), Coach Clarke, Coach Lewis, Coach Carter (not Samuel L. Jackson, sadly), Coach Wiegmann, NOT Coach Schwab WORST EVER, Goose, and the Chu Monster.
• All my life coaches: my parents, my scissor sisters, Ms. Graf.
  
• Team Stanford '08: Anthony, Beardy, Dave the Cheshire Cat, Denise, Doc, Erin, JoJo, Jolanta, Krystal Balls, Lorna (COME ON), Milan, Sam, Steph
  
• Team Stanford '09: Beardy, Becky, Brittany, Doc, Emily, 'Meerkat Manor, Milan, Steve
• my adorable Potter girls and my creepy Adams Family creatures
  
• bromances
  
• Freshmen-Senior girlfriends
  
• our boos on Wisconsin-Eau Claire
• all our Natties/Centex Cuties
  
• The Legion.
• Marlena Keller, even after all these years, I don't think I'd be alive today if it weren't for her.
• 2007 College Championship Quarters: UCLA vs. Wisconsin.
  
• Regionals '08 backdoor final vs. Michigan State, Sectionals '09 final vs. Northwestern, Nationals '09 vs. UNC-Wilmington.
  
• the entirety of Trouble in Vegas '08, Texas Throwdown '08 vs. Wisconsin, Hong Kong Pan Asian Tournament '08 semis vs. Sunken Pleasure, the entirety of Sunday of Pres Day '09, Regionals '09 final vs. Michigan, Regionals '09 backdoor final vs. Ohio State, Nationals '09 vs. Wash U.
• 12-15; 15-4
  
• 26.2 miles in the heat, and 26.2 miles in the cold.
  
• Cathy's leg kick, Phil's raised arm, my tongue, Abby's high release backhands, Kelly Foster's high release backhands, Jon's layouts, Jen's waist-bend.
  
• Fozz's backhand bomb, Margaret's upline cut, and knowing Kimmy D will make the right dump cut ;)
  
• Throwing with Steve, Sameer, and Becky; Half Moon Bay ultimate with Dave, Sam, and Beardy; "practice" with my creatures; games with Beardy against the Robinson Boys.
• Tuesday night throwing.
• Sunday night soccer: "Take your hands out of your pockets!", "Oh ... SHIT."
• push passes, ten throw with push passes, long distance push passes.
  
• NOT box drill, NOT diamond drill, Raging Bull, Randy Moss, and getting to 10 on the first try.
• Defense.
  
• As much as I sometimes hate these places: the Armory, Irwin, and the Complex Fields.
• "Nayshuns" mix on my iPod, warming up to it before the Michigan game at Regionals, and working out to it.
• my eye: As Fozz puts it, the "shooting star" of team injuries. Freshman year: hit in the eye with a huck by Ann Dailey; junior year: scratched cornea, hit in the eye during warm up before the Michigan game at Regionals by Kimmy D; this year: scratched corneas. Soooo infected.
  
• The following articles of clothing: NikeFit pull over, VC pull over, Badger long sleeve, New Balance 3/4 tights, red/white Spicy jerseys, white shorts, and my well-loved, soon-to-be-retired Red Sox cap.
  
• Basketball: diving for loose balls, cross overs, the skip pass, three pointers, boxing out.
  
• Adams Tower, Sterling Quad, Potter Lounge, Potter 1 and Potter 3, Adams 2, the real Tank (Beefeaters), the ghetto Tank (jail cell in Schiff), Arrillaga, Roble, Lake Lagunita, Lakeside Dining Commons, Robinson Roof, and the entire Stanford campus, actually.
• the golf cart ... sigh.
  
• laps around Lake Lagunita, 10 minute abs, 7am workouts, lifting at Arrillaga, throwing in/around the Tank.
  
• SFSL, SOMD, One Minute of Rage, Sam Ball, "What are all these bitches hollering about?", Boo Patrol, "I'm on a Cart", and all the other dumb shit we think up of.
  
• 312/773
  
• Keri Hilson: "don't tell nobody but I jam Miley Cyrus 'Party in the USA'"
• otters<3
• honestly, every Rilo Kiley album, every Elliott Smith album, every Explosions in the Sky album, and a score of albums that are too numerous to list.
• In-N-Out, spread, and how I would risk losing my job for it.
  
• food challenges, Taco Bell trips post-track practice, post-tournament Wendy's, hard boiled eggs.
• 中国, and everything about it.
  
• Gmail, GoogleDocs, and GChat.
• Top Chef (Kevin Gillespie and Jennifer Carroll = my loves)
  
• everyone who reads this.
• a host of other things you don't want to sit through.

In the eternally wise words of my friend Doc, "no matter what, 02 runs through my veins, CO2 comes out my lungs and H2O is freely given unto me."

Happy Thanksgiving, world.