I have to agree, this year I am able to be more giving than in the past. The wife and I are able to sponser a family for Christmas; this includes not only a meal and some presents, but paying all the bills for the month of December. It is a humbling and awesome blessing to be able to do this now, because there was a time when going to the store just to buy Christmas dinner for ourselves was not just a given. In addition, we bought a carful of toys for the Marines, and took a few more cards off the Salvation Army tree. All of this is paid out of an abundance, so it isn't like we are doing without anything this year to help others. We believe it is God's gift to us to let us feel the joy of helping others.

In addition, I am back in Denver, which is a good thing for me, and my daughters are going to be with us for nearly 4 weeks over Christmas break. My job is going great, even with the bureaucracy I have to deal with. We are pushing the envelope of applying technology to publish all the project information in new ways. We are also pumping an awful lot of money back into the local economy for construction work (somewhere around $700 million over the next 3 years, combined with $450 million from the School District). It feels good to be part of something like that.

My only regret is that there's no way for me to practically distribute my good fortune further. If our budget will take it responsibly, we may offer to sponser another family as well, but I do believe in making the "Talents" I was given by the master produce as well.

It is all relative I suppose, for every down on your luck case out there, there always seems to be someone on the up and up to balance the equation. I've been on both sides of the window, so I guess most everyone will get their turn, to some degree anyways.

Cheerful, I don't know.

My job isn't going anywhere- so long as there are people on public assistance, I'm good.

My car is mine, even if it is a bit of a pain. Engine, transmission, body and tires are super solid. Suspension and breaks are good, even if they could stand a few hundred dollars of work. Heater keeps the windows clear, and that is the important part. I need to get a new fan belt tomorrow when I get the oil changed. *shrugs* Not bad for a 1999 w/ 145K on it.

My debts are getting beat down.

My health is good.

I've got a place to go if everything hits the fan. Even if I have to do it on foot, I have friends every 30 miles and a few days of supplies stashed at each one.

My only weakness is my housing situation. And that will hopefully change by the new year. Then I'll be able to stock supplies and bring my BoB over from my folks.

Not cheerful, perhaps, but I've got a job and I still wake up in the morning.

Well, not really funny, but very good news for me.

I was laid off on 10/24. By 11/17 I had found and started a new job that paid 33% more, was 23 miles closer to home, and has shorter hours. It is rather surreal, considering the state that the economy is in. But I am not complaining.

Yes.

I'm not in Mumbai and all my loved ones are alive and relatively healthy.

All the rest is just secondary.

Samhain, you remind me of my constant motto, er mantra, that I repeat almost daily, that being:

At least I am not in Baghdad anymore and no one is trying to shoot me or blow me up, which is always a good thing.

Living proof that no matter how careful one is, something funny always has unintended consequences.

Now, YoDuh . . . . SIT! (And stop splitting the lifeboat matches.)

This is pretty damn cheerful.
I'm pretty sure that won't happen here :p

Sure, there's lots of things.

First of all, Americans are learning exactly how much they make and how much they can really afford, instead of using houses and HELOC's (second mortgages) as an ATM and ignoring basic economics, the hard lesson of Living Within Your Means is underway. It will take a generation or more to undo the lessons of the insanely leveraged buy now pay never years, but it will be learned.

It will be to drawing attention to wage stagnation of the last 10 years. Many Americans are starting to question if what's good for corporate America is really good for them. Corporate personhood is rightly being questioned.

It will also force the millions of folks who bought a house as an "investment" instead of a "place to live and grow old" to face reality. They bought under the deluded notion, pushed by folks with nothing to lose and everything to gain that home prices never fall so they could flip and move on. Now they will be likely to stay put, "underwater" and frozen in place and as a result, we might see something like communities forming, because people can't leave and they are forced to learn how to rely on neighbors.

Food insecurity and fear of it is going to lead more people to trying to grow some food. Most will fail, some will have limited success and others will learn the power of being able to raise up at least some of your food.

Barter is increasing, and barter is the most ancient and wonderful form of commerce there is.

Best of all, as we enter the next phase of this Recession, a hyper-inflationary mega-mess (we're not even half way to the real crisis), we're not going to be able to afford oil with our devalued dollars, so we're not going to have a choice about rebuilding what was once one of the greatest rail networks on the planet. We're not going to be able to avoid rolling out new energy sources and technologies - because we will HAVE to do it.

Best of all, there's enough people alive today who have the drive and the willingness to lead, if we can only shut up with our bickering over the petty issues of the here and now and start looking at America 2020.

I think that a friend of mine said it best:

The American Economy is, like Americans, obese and out of shape. Under the layers of middle management fat, there's still some powerful muscle, but shedding the fat is the first job before we can tone up again.

The fat-shedding is happening now. If it doesn't kill us (and there's plenty of folks who hope it does, leaving 6 countries where America once stood), it will make us stronger.

So, yeah, it sucks to tone up. The results will be worth it.

Amen.

And you're not a security guard at a Walmart on Black Friday....

I want to slap some of my coworkers that are incessantly whining and complaining about everything.

That was my biggest frustration during hurricane Gustav (unit without main power/ac for several days)I put a "NO WHINING" sign in the nurses station.

I've told some of the young ones around me (ad nauseum) that I've zipped enough people into body bags that inclement weather, traffic, unpleasant fast food wage slaves, etc doesn't bother me.

I'm going to enjoy it all while I got it.

Having said that, it doesn't eliminate stress completely (given the killer stress headache I'm enjoying at the moment compliments of my job), just puts it in perspective.

I'm off to hug my wife and child and go to bed....

Depends on who'd cooking it.