Dec 5th

Dear co-workers,

I had such a pleasant time talking to you guys on the train this evening. I love hearing about the things you are involved in and passionate about. Thank you also for helping me get my job loaded on the train and off. You guys are nice!

Dear lady who posted the "We the tiny house people" documentary on you tube,

Dude, you totally blew my mind. I am so excited for my mortgage free future. Did you know that I used to hear the word 'mortgage' when i was like 14 or 15 and it would send me hurtling down into a deep depression? Of course you didn't, but it's true. Mortgage. SHUDDER!

Anyways, I'm stoked on my new idea for a house. Thanks also to the people who build tiny houses!

Dear Kitty cat,

You're so soft. And you're so cute. And you're so cuddly. You're pretty much the cat I always dreamed of having when I was a kid. Thanks for coming in to my life. I'm so glad I chose you at the shelter and not that tiny kitten. xoxox you rock, can't wait to cuddle with you tonight!

Dec 4th

I can't believe I forgot this yesterday- I had such a great day where I felt grateful all day.

Dear Job,

There are so many many things I love about you, so today I'll only focus on one of the things I love about you. I love my schedule and I love that I only work 11 hours a week. You da best job! The best ever! Thank you for being awesome!

Dear neighbors,

Thanks for being supportive and kind about the vet care for your dog. I really appreciate you guys. It means a lot to me that you weren't jerks about this. Thank you! and thank you for your smiles and greetings every day.

Dear train,

You already know how much I love you. I love that I can get my work done on you. I love that I don't have to ride my scooter in the rain. I love that you're a/c'd in the summer and heated in the winter. I love that you pick me up right at my house and drop me off at my work. Ahhhh, you're so great!

Dec 3

Dear student who helped me get my new coat rack to the train station this afternoon,

Thanks for doing that. It would have been a really miserable walk carrying that thing ;) Also, I enjoyed talking to you in class- it's always fun to talk to someone as opinionated and chatty as myself.

Thanks!

Dear front desk lady,

You're always so pleasant when I come to work. Even though you don't speak much English and I don't speak much Chinese, you still always make en effort to be kind and smiley. Also, you're really efficient and good at your job. I know you just had a baby recently. I hope that's going ok and that you don't miss him too much while you're at work.

Thanks for being awesome!

Dear Boyfriend,

Thank you for helping me walk my dogs this morning. I know sometimes I'm not good at expressing my gratitude when I'm in a rush. I hope you can feel it anyways.

(and you're dead sexy.)

(I like your lats. Mmmmmm)

(I'm also glad we can have good conversations. That's even more important to me than your lats.)

Dear Nanowrimo inventors and participants,

I'm so glad there're people like you out there in the world.

Thanks for helping me be more creative.

Dec 2nd

Dear artsy people,

I enjoyed looking at your paintings at the art show this morning. I love that you have spent hours and hours developing your talents, probably never really even knowing if it was going to pay off (monetarily anyways). I love being around people who have a passion for something. Thank you!

Dear designer(s) of the Loudong Sports Park,

I love your park. It's pleasant during the day, and at night, I feel like I'm in some magical woodsy fairyland place thing. Seriously. I love the random walkways, artwork, weirdly placed rocks etc. It's such a cool place to wander around. I wish we had parks like this in America. Thanks for designing it the way you did!

Dear boyfriend,

I'm so glad we're together. Thanks for loving me even when I feel un-loveable. I know you said no blogging about you. Wonder how long it will take for you to see this. Haha!

December 1st

You ever feel like the universe is trying to send you a message? For the last six months, all I'm hearing is gratitude this, gratitude that. Practicing mindful gratitude is a proven way to be happier and stuff like that. Ted talks, articles in magazines, tons of stuff online. So, I decided to start a gratitude journal. I don't know if I'll share this with anyone, but I figured I might as well put it out there, back into the universe, since that's where the thing that inspired the gratitude came from in the first place.

I have had a habit of writing little 'gratitude letters'. They're goofy, unedited, and often addressed to inanimate objects. Every once in a while I just feel like writing one. I'm sure I got this idea from somewhere, I think some girl online has a blog of little goofy gratitude letters. So, whoever she is, I'm copying her. Thanks for the idea internet person! I'll try to write three a day. I'll probably take a hiatus when I'm traveling around south east asia starting dec 14th, but then I hope to start up again.

Dear guitar playing taxi driver, I had a really horrible morning the other day. I mean bad on so many levels (flooded house, injured dog, my landlady stole my key so I couldn't lock my house, awkward language-less exchanges with my neighbors because I can't speak Chinese...the list goes on) Anyways, I got through all of that and I was in a pretty foul mood when I exited the train station on my way to work. All of the taxis were lined up outside as they always are, and you were sitting there, with your door open, playing the guitar. I don't know what it was about it that made me smile so big- the fact that a taxi driver was trying to improve himself in his waiting time, when most of them just chew betel nutt and scream "Adoga!" or "Hallohallowhowareyou?" when they see me, or just...I don't know. But it made me so happy to see you there strumming. YOU seemed happy. And in that moment my day switched around. I had a great class and came home ready to face the drama. Thank you, guitar playing taxi driver. May you strum your way to happiness. Love, The Grateful Surfer

Dear neighbor's dog, I'm sorry my dog bit you. It looks painful. Thank you for being so sweet and calm when I took you to the vet, and thank you for letting me give you your medicine this morning. I was kind of scared. YOu're not my dog- who's to say you wouldn't bite me as I pried your jaws open, popped a pill inside, held your mouth closed and rubbed your throat till you swallowed. I mean, seriously, you really could have bit me, and I was scared, and you probably sensed that, and that probably made it more likely that you would bite me. But you didn't, and you were patient, even when I messed up the first time and the bitter medicine must have tasted horrible. You're a really sweet dog. I hope we can make your wound all better. Thanks for cooperating even though you don't understand what's going on. Love, The Grateful Surfer

Dear Internet, I love you. I love you with the fury of a thousand dorky internet lovers. Seriously, you make my life amazing every day. Everything I want to know is right there, at my fingertips, any time. Whenever I need advice, or to know I'm not alone, you're there. Boy do I love you. Boy, do I. You're addictive, but you even provide tips and programs to help me with my addiction (I'll thank the 'stayfocused' plugg in another time). Also, you give me things like nanowrimo (which I completed last night, 50,053 words at the stroke of midnight!). I love you. I do. I guess it's only right that I contribute to you somehow- maybe I'll find a way to contribute better in the future. I hope you'll always be free. Love, The Grateful Surfer

Also, I'm going to post a surf photo or video every day. I have thousands of surf photos from my gopro, and no place to put them, because it seems a little silly to keep clogging up people's newsfeeds with them on facebook. So here's a surf shot, from a little while ago because I haven't gone yet today.