Appreciation post
ISSUES #6
letter from the editor
You ever have someone say thank you and you can tell they really mean it? Like borderline over the top, going out of their way to let you know that they really appreciated your help. If you’ve worked any kind of customer service job, you probably know the difference between an earnest thank you and an obligatory thank you. If you’ve only ever been a customer, you’re probably the type to give no thank you at all.
You ever try to be someone who says the earnest thank you? Recently a kind hardware store employee named Ryan prevented my dumb ass me from putting drywall screws into my plaster walls. Not knowing the difference between plaster and drywall made me feel like an idiot and expressing that knowledge gap here feels embarrassing, but I’m trying to be nicer to myself so let’s just say we live and we learn. This guy really helped me out, eased my feelings of stupidity, and I made sure to express that when I thanked him.
Appreciation is a skill you have to sharpen. As with anything else, you get better the more you do it. The way I see it, appreciation builds on observation builds on awareness. Pay more attention. Close your eyes and listen for the quietest sound you can hear. Open your eyes, find one shadow and identify its light source. Start to notice things and you’ll start to notice things to be thankful for.
And say thank you more. Do your best to mean it.
~ pat
ISSUE 6
It being Thanksgiving* season and all, seems only right to give big thanks. I’ve got a long list in my gratitude journal, so thanks to you all for bearing with me.
*I also feel compelled to say, don’t forget what you’re celebrating. In the case of Thanksgiving, it’s colonialist myth-making of displacement and land theft. An aptly American holiday.
First bit of appreciation goes to my parents for not insisting I travel home for this November holiday. Our house has hosted Thanksgiving for as long as I remember and my mom and dad are superheroes for the occasion. It’s an important day to them, but they don’t get on my case about missing it, which deserves recognition. For the third year in a row I will spend the day at the home of two of my dearest friends, surrounded by the loved ones we spend our daily lives around, in a tradition of our own making. Pretty cool stuff.
This month marks three years since I moved to Oakland. Where’d all the time go? One of the biggest perks of living in Northern California is the awe-inspiring natural beauty available to you within just a few hours’ drive. Without a car I rely on others for the fun day trips up the coast, and rely on other modes of transport for getting around. My primary wheels are attached to a cute ass vintage 1986 Trek 2000 two-tone aluminum frame that was generously gifted to me in a time of bikelessness. Last year in a lunch break conversation with two acquaintances (shout out Dee Dee, shout out John), I expressed that my previous bike (also gifted, shout out Kolhede) had been stolen, and they offered me a spare that had belonged to their friend who had died (shout out Pete).
This bike now feels like an extension of my body. I feel transcendent when I’m cruising around. The roads (literal and figurative) are sprinkled with broken glass and cracks in the pavement, and though I’ve been wracking up flat tires (literal and figurative), I’m thankful for the big freedom my bike brings into my little world.
Much of this year has been spent underemployed, so gotta give thanks for the current employment. Since August I’ve been working in the kitchen at a local restaurant that recently pivoted from fine dining to counter service, now delivering delicious chicken to the hungry masses. The days are long and the shifts can get hectic (shout out Doordash) but the people are the absolute best. We goof around, play loud music, gossip, and sharpen our second languages. My coworkers have quickly become some of my favorite people. We’re in the trenches together, we give each other space to have a bad day, allow each other the grace to talk about it, even and especially through the occasional English to Spanish divide. Come eat a whole chicken and visit us seven days a week (evenings Sunday through Wednesday if you wanna catch me there).
Last but not least, a bittersweet appreciation. I’ve breadcrumbed it out essentially since the first ISSUE, so astute readers may have already figured out the twist, but I went through a pretty tough breakup this year. This project has been a covert way to process my heartbreak. Using old magazines as an attempt to look back and find clarity, writing about The Grateful Dead to address goodbyes, these have all been disguised explorations into how I feel and how I will feel better.
So while I’m still sad, I’m incredibly grateful for everything we were, while we were. There was a lot of love shared, and I feel confident that that love will shift shape but remain. Thankful to have this person in my life then and now, and for everyone who’s helped us both get through it.
The articles this month are compiled around the things I’m especially grateful for this year: vintage cycles, a roasted chicken resurgence, heartbreak. There’s also articles about nice plates for nice dinners, interacting with the outdoors, how crossword puzzles help us cope, and a discography of the GOAT Pauline Oliveros, from whom I learned the magic of listening as a tool for awareness. Hope you find something within the pdf that resonates with you.
Read if you wanna get outside / like looking at pretty bikes / like looking at pretty plates / need a November movie recommendation / enjoy exploring the Bay Area food scene / know that good chicken never goes out of style / went through a breakup and need tools to see yourself through it / want to get into to accordion music / solve puzzles
Shout out to Evan and Sarah, hosts three years running. Shout out Dee Dee who introduced me to John, who gifted me Pete’s bike. Shout out my Daytrip crew: Alli, Sam, Madison, Jennifer, Kim, Cantor, Mario, Jose, Joey, Carmen, Eduardo, Graciella, and Quinn. Shout out to Bows.
