This post may seem a little awkward, coming a week after the American Thanksgiving but since I’m not American, nor based there and since there is no similar celebration over here in Malaysia, I just wanted to share some things for which I’m thankful, as November draws to a close and the year end becomes imminent.
Sometimes, as we go around our daily lives, we may miss or forget the little things that make up our lives and to be thankful for small mercies. It needn’t be something earth shattering, or even something prominent. But I’ve found that sometimes just recounting the little things that are positives, makes big problems seem smaller and less significant.
So here are some things I’m thankful for, just to remind myself that things aren’t as bad as they seem, ever. If you feel like sharing yours, please do. Sometimes, we all need a little reminder 😉
I’m thankful for:-
- Having a car – The traffic can sometimes get to me, and naturally a car comes with it attendant responsibilities, but I am thankful for owning and being able to own one especially in our unpredictable hot then rainy weather.
- Having small feet – Its easier for me to get shoes that are on sale 🙂
- Data on my mobile – What else could I do in traffic jams or boring places if I could not check Twitter and chat on whatsapp?! LOL
- A Dad who embraces technology – He isn’t quite all up there as a technogeek, but he can handle email and the internet well enough to get him the information he wants and needs, which is pretty impressive for someone who used to work with typewriters! It makes it easier for us all to share information especially through email. Yesterday, he sent me a text message with this -> 🙂 It made me laugh aloud. My dad is employing smilies! 😀
- GChat – It is distracting as heck, but perfect for arranging impromptu lunch dates and meet ups, and for sharing
gossipnews 😀 - Knowing people who love bags as much as I do – Fact is, not everyone understands when you say you love a particular design or brand. Some are disdainful especially about costs. I am thankful to have found people with whom I can dissect a design and talk about the costs and who will tell me right off if its not worth it, or push me in the direction of a better design/value.
- Being busy at work – I like to tell people, “busy is good” it means you have a job, and that there is money coming into a business. Its when you are not busy and are sitting around twiddling your thumbs too often that you should be worried! So I’m thankful to be busy.
- Friends – Old or new, I’m thankful for every single one. Sometimes, as is wont to happen in life, people drift apart and go off to lead their own lives. Keeping in touch isn’t as easy as it looks and for many, the way of keeping in touch is relegated to a Facebook “Like”. I choose to stay off Facebook and friends I stay in touch with are people I actually do communicate with and meet with, not just “like”.
- Staying off Facebook – Haha… yes I do not have a personal Facebook presence, only for the MWS Facebook page. I chose not to go there, and I’m glad I didn’t.
- Whatsapp – this cross platform data based mobile chat programme, despite it’s lags, has been wonderful. It allows me to chat with friends and family locally and overseas and importantly send images and videos. Its how I have been staying in touch with the progress of my little nephew, and it’s an invaluable thing to have when you’re out shopping for friends.One photo speaks louder than words in helping someone decide on a purchase. Also, not sure if that dress works on you, one photo to my sis and I either get the thumbs up or down. Oh, I also once woke up to 140 messages in a group chat with people in different time zones. Its wonderful! (not affiliated, hah!)
- For being able to read maps – yes, I can read maps and I can navigate and I love exploring new places. Physical maps aside, I’m also thankful for being able to pick and navigate my own way around the thicket out there and not have to scum off others. I suppose I enjoy the pioneering spirit as opposed to being a piggybacker 🙂
And always, YOU – Without every single one of you reading this, I and MWS would be nothing. Without your encouragement and your active participation (which I love btw even if I’ve been too swamped to reply them as quickly as I like) I don’t know how much longer I could have gone on. But as it stands, you have bolstered me enough to step into Year 6 of blogging come March 2013 – Thank YOU! 🙂
If you feel like sharing, the comment box is open 🙂
Paris B
Tine says
November 30, 2012 at 8:52 amI’m thankful for pretty much all of the stuff you’ve listed. Okay, maybe not the last one because I did get Tim and I lost in Kyoto in several occasions even with Google Maps and the “where am I” function on 😛
I’m thankful for the people who made all this new technology we have possible. I’m thankful for the food on the table (mine or the restaurants’). I’m thankful for all the provisions we have even with a rather heavy mortgage. I’m thankful for the pretty things that are available to me. I’m thankful for my family and my friends.
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 9:50 pmAmen to all that too, Tine! I always had a sense for maps so I tend to end up as the default navigator anywhere I go. Thank goodness I do enjoy it 🙂
AnT says
November 30, 2012 at 9:20 am😀 I am thankful for most of the stuff you have mentioned 😀
I am thankful for God’s blessings everyday 😀
I am thankful for getting to know you and truly appreciate you being around for us for years and many many years to come! 😀 *hugs*
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 9:57 pmYes, we have to be thankful for all God’s blessings for nothing else would be possible 😀 here’s hoping I’ll be around in years to come but if not, I suppose there’s always some way to track me down lol! 😉
AnT says
December 3, 2012 at 9:39 amLOL! True indeed! With God’s wisdom there’s always some way to track you down! 😀 LOL!!
Beth Maiorana says
November 30, 2012 at 9:57 amI am so very very grateful when someone about whom I care deeply and appreciate so much (Paris B is one of those) is grateful for the small everyday almost imperceptible things in life, for those truly are the ones that count- especially so when they’re acknowledged. In other words, one of the greatest attributes one can have is that of humility and gratitude for the small mundane aspects of our existence here in this world. Thanks for the post, thanks for sharing in the tradition of Thanksgiving, and thanks (over and over again) for all you do!! xoxo Beth in Pgh
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:02 pmBeth, one of my favorites 🙂 thank you. I just have to remind myself that there are mightier forces at work that we have to give a nod to now and again because it rarely if ever is about just ourselves 🙂
xin says
November 30, 2012 at 10:07 amBeing thankful is never late 😉
– thankful for parents who spoil me!
– thankful for technology – esp gchat and whatsapp, makes sharing information SO easy 😉
– thankful for having a job near home, without having to struggle with traffic
– thankful for the sense of gratitude
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:04 pmYou are very lucky with your job location! And yes, parents who spoil us even now. Am ever thankful for them!
Vissi says
November 30, 2012 at 10:22 amOh Paris, I couldn’t agree with you more. Being thankful for all the small positive things in your life and you will realize that after all, your life is not that bad at all.
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:05 pmYnever a truer word saud, Vissi!
Catherine says
November 30, 2012 at 11:02 amIm thankful for many things even though I dont always express it (Im working on it)
-Im thankful for health, it wasnt always that great…
-for my boyfriend, so many great things I could write here 😛
-support of my friends and parents
-for living in the centre of Paris, in safe and good area
-for being able to have everything I need and still to indulge in luxury goods
-realizing my dreams!!
and more vain reasons too…
-long lashes
-big eyes
-skin without acne or clogged pores… 😀
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:06 pmCatherine, you’re making me jealous with your lovely lashes, eyes and skin! Lol definitely something to be thankful for, aside all the blessings in your life. Thank you for sharing!
xiao says
November 30, 2012 at 11:30 amI am proud to have contributed to many of those 140 messages 😉 Love you, Paris!
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:08 pmYou should be! But I’m not complaining, love getting them! <3
lemon says
November 30, 2012 at 12:20 pmI am thankful for :
-still breathing without any help.
-abundance of food
-mobility , no joint pains etc.
-family and loved ones
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:10 pmNever a truer word said, Lemon. Thank you for the reminder 🙂
Sarah says
November 30, 2012 at 1:12 pmI am thankful for a supportive husband, family and friends, being able to keep in touch with them so easily with today’s technology(why do I feel old typing this?), my health and a roof over my head.
The past week, we’ve been having problems with water and electricity. I tell myself (amidst the swearing *blush*) that at least I know the water and electricity WILL come back on.
On a lighter note, I am grateful for beauty blogs that let me indulge in my love for cosmetics without hurting my wallet. 🙂
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:14 pmOh dear I hope your water and electricity woes are solved. It’s so tough not to have either after we’ve become so used to having it on tap, as it were 🙂
plue says
November 30, 2012 at 2:25 pmthankful for everything that has happen and for all the people that I have met along the way, without things that happened and for the people who came and left an imprint in my life, I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am right now. 🙂
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:16 pmYou said it, Plue! We never know how the people we meet will shape our lives but they all do, one way or another and leaves us better people at the end of it, we hope! 😉
Ting says
November 30, 2012 at 3:09 pmThat’s a really beautiful shot of sakuras as foreground. 🙂
I am thankful for the GPS technology. Without it, I will never be able to (or dare to) roam around BKK. Yeah I am a direction-idiot. 🙁
I am thankful for having a flexible part time job so that I can spend more time with the kids and still keep myself updated with the world out there.
I am thankful for having more lovely people around than the bad ones. Maybe I just avoid those bad ones… haha
Like your dad, my mum is the tech savvy one. She took lessons to learn how to use the computer and browse internet, and she got herself a smart phone which she regularly uses to chat with us in Line app. and see our photos in FB. On the contrary, my daddy who owns the latest iphone model doesn’t even know how to do any of it. He only ever logged into his facebook page once… yes once when my bro helped him to open an account. hahahahaa He’s terrible right? I love them both for being so different! <3
And I am thankful for the lovely blogs like yours. It's like an education tour every time I drop by. Thank you. 🙂
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:20 pmThanks, Ting. It was an old photo I found from my trip to Korea a couple of years back 🙂 my mom is using the ancient Nokia phones that can just make calls and send and receive basic text messages lol. She is a bit of a technophobe but I guess they balance each other out like your parents 😀 I can’t imagine getting out and about in Bangkok without a GPS. I can navigate the same places I go to regularly but too far off the beaten track and it’s easy to get lost.
Jyoan says
November 30, 2012 at 5:44 pmParis B and MWS must stay blessed so that I will always have treats to read!! =)
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:22 pmThank you Jyoan 🙂 and that you do too, so we can all be hanging around in years to come 😉
Marla says
November 30, 2012 at 6:30 pm“A Dad who embraces technology”- I love this one!
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:23 pmLol he surprised me to much, I didn’t even realize he knew how to use emoticons 🙂
Rute says
November 30, 2012 at 6:44 pmThis is interesting, it’s good to stop a little bit and think about what you’re grateful for… I’m thankful for my studies, having a job and a car, I’m thankful for my friends, family and boyfriend, and for my health. Really, what can we ask for more?
Love your blog, keep it up 🙂
xxx
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:24 pmYou’re absolutely right, Rute. When we have the basics, we’re set 🙂 thank you for coming by and leaving a comment 🙂
Beauty Box says
November 30, 2012 at 6:53 pmYup counting your blessings is so important and it’s also a way to feel happy even when times are rough.
I’m so surprised by you not having a personal Facebook account. I actually find it quite a burden these days but I wonder what my friends would think if I suddenly cancel my account. I do like getting happy news like birth of a child, birthday celebrations, weddings, etc. especially since I live away from home. And there’s also the politics of deleting people. What a minefield! It’s good that you didn’t start 😉
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:27 pmI realize its surprising 😀 I suppose I never felt comfortable reconnecting to people from my past so I chose not to connect when everyone was, on Facebook. I had nothing to say to many of them and didn’t want everyone knowing what I am up to 😉 I realize now political and delicate the situation is now, so I’m really glad I never went down that route.
elin says
November 30, 2012 at 8:11 pmI’m thankful for getting into an accident today and escaping unscathed! (mentally shocked… going to burn a hole in my pocket… but physically well!)
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:30 pmElin, I got a shock when I read this, but I’m glad to hear you are unscathed. Anything else can be repaired or replaced but our lives are too precious! Stay safe!
Jennifer says
November 30, 2012 at 10:22 pmYou have reminded me to be thankful for most of the items on your list, except for the map (can’t read one), FB (can’t stay away) and GChat (don’t use it and have no contacts to add) lol. Thank you Paris 🙂 I am thankful for family and friends who stood by me when the world walked out on me, for promotion at work despite the stiff competition, for being busy every day (as you said, “busy is good” it means you have a job), for being alive surviving snatch theft and falling asleep behind the wheels, for putting myself together after being broken up into million pieces, and thankful I got to know you and your blog.
Often, I spend days feeling depressed despite where I am now. I know I shouldn’t when I can clearly list out what I am thankful for but I don’t feel grateful though…I have to try harder I know 🙂
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:35 pmJennifer, there’s a lot you have to be thankful for and congratulations on the job promotion! 😀 I know what you mean about sometimes not being able to see the silver lining. It’s a lot harder than it looks and I’m slowly learning to be more positive in life too. But I do believe good things come to those who stay positive 🙂
Nikki says
December 1, 2012 at 12:49 amAside from all the small blessings that I receive every single day that I’m thankful for, I am really thankful for blogging as I get to meet YOU and the rest of the girls! We may not talk to each other much but it is nice to know I have a friend “online” whom I can always message and be myself and I’m not even afraid to be “judged”
Love you PB! 😀
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:38 pmLove you too, Nikki and you know where to find me if you ever need to chat 😀 you have lots of blessings and soon, another little one to join the party 😀
Jessica says
December 1, 2012 at 9:30 amI am thankful for the good health of family members and friends.
I am also thankful that I have discovered MWS by chance. The concise and honest discussions here – are entertaining, friendly and save me $$$$. What nice community. I also get to drool on yummy Malaysian food which you (Paris B) share with us occasionally:))
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 10:44 pmAnd I’m very thankful that you are here with us, Jessica! 🙂
Juanneth says
December 2, 2012 at 11:09 pmI am thankful for :
– Being a girl (I can wear pink without feeling awkward 😛 )
– Internet (I can go to Istanbul back and forth without getting up from my chair *Google Earth*, I can cook many recipes without going to culinary school *Google*, I can watch Chester See saying “I love you” over and over *Youtube*, and where I met my beloved ehehe).
– Having a lot of cats (I don’t really talk with people, I talk to cats).
– Friends, family and strangers that care about me.
– Sick parent (We are suffering with black magic which was done to break my family apart. If life isn’t this hard, I would end up being a pampered and spoiled person who doesn’t even know how to make an order for a Big Mac. I am embracing the hardness of things and now I can do almost everything by my own and taking care the whole family members.)
Paris B says
December 2, 2012 at 11:13 pmJuanneth, it sounds like there is a lot to be thankful for! I love that you met your beloved online. Its the stuff of movies! 😀 as for life, I’m glad you are taking things in stride and picking yourself up and moving on, and learning as you go. Keep it up and take care!