5 Things That I Am Thankful For: Joe Flesche Edition

Since today is Thanksgiving, I decided to have some of CCD's closest friends & contributors share the 5 things in their lives that they are truly thankful for... not family, or boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses etc.... the real stuff they need to keep them going. With no further ado, I present a life long friend and former college roomate Joe "Fletch" Flesche's 5 Things I Am Thankful For!!!

I got an e-mail yesterday from Mike D asking me write an article for CCD. Man, I was honored. So I immediately starting thinking and writing about the topic, and 13 hours later, we have...



Joe F's list of '5 items in my life that I need daily & are thankful for'

1. Commuting - Crazy right? So let me explain (I'll make it short). I went to school for chemical engineering (I was roomies with Mike D for a year. Yeah son!), and my plan was to work for a pharmaceutical company after getting out of school. Well that was a great idea except for the fact that I could not work in the New York / Long Island area since there is little to no manufacturing facilities in the area. Don't get me wrong, I love the work I do for my company, but I have to commute in order to make the family happy. So, when I commute to work, I get to catch up on things that I normally don't have time for at home. When I was taking public transportation (2 hours each way), I was able to read a ton of books and listen to music. But now I get to drive 50 miles each way to work! Awesome! I have plenty of time to listen to the radio and get agravated on the way home (about 1.5 hours each way). So I am thankful that I have time during the days I commute to work to listen to Cipha Sounds and Rosenburg, NPR, 710AM, 770AM, 1010AM, various mixtapes and hip-hop/rap albums. (Please note that commuting sucks. I'm just trying to make myself feel better about what I have to do. Did I convince you?)


2. Working from home - I am lucky that I have a job that allows me to work from home. And any day that I don't have to commute to work is a great day. Yeah I don't get to listen to the radio, but I am thankful that I can work from home and have a bit less stress, more sleep, and more time for me and my family.


3. Google - I'm not just talking about http://www.blogger.com/www.google.com as a search engine. I'm specifically talking about the Google suite of software; Google Mail, Google Calendar (with Tasks), Google Reader, Blogspot/Blogger, Documents, Picasa, Chrome, etc. I am so very thankful every day for Google having a fantastic product line that is absolutely free. The product that I use most is the Google Calendar. We use it as a family to scheduling everything; there is never a question when there's a doctor appointment or a family party. I also use Google Reader to keep track of all of my websites that I frequent (CCD!). If you don't use the Google products, you're missing out!


4. Hair - I have the uncanny ability to grow hair at a rapid rate. This could be looked at as a curse (the need for frequent haircuts, excessive chest hair, back hair, the need for grooming, etc.) or as a blessing (for obvious top of the head reasons, beards, mustaches or because I could pass as a werewolf). But I am thankful every day that I have a full mane of hair!


5. Getting my crap together - I have been lifting and running inconsistantly since college, without much to show for it. I could never get my act together. Within the past month, I have been thinking of some things that 2 important people in my life have said. The two most important things are...
   • Stop being a pussy. JoeyESQ
   
   
   • Its hard for life to get in the way at 5AM. George M
   
   
   So now I've got myself a reasonable lifting and running plan thanks to these two guys (and for that, we thank you).

Pretty lame list huh? I'm old...

-Joe F