thanks, baby

i was attempting to give y'all one more installment of the guide to new york before everyone in this country shuts down and chains themselves to their stoves in the pursuit of what i consider to be the best holiday of all time: thanksgiving. a day whose entire point is to sit around with the people you love, eat a lot of food, get really drunk, and think about what makes you happy. what you're thankful for.

• my friends, who know without fail when to just sit back and let me operate on auto-witter and when to step in and call me on my bullshit. who are always on call to mop up a broken heart and always up for a night of debauchery and debate. they challenge me, surprise me, amaze me, make me crazy and make me proud. if the mettle of a man (or woman) can be discerned by the company (s)he keeps, then it's no wonder that my fits of self-loathing have grown so much fewer and further between; if i am to be judged by my friends, then i must be beautiful, brilliant, kind, caring, talented, fierce, strong and worldly to deserve so many people with those qualities in my life.  tribe, i salute thee, and i am thankful that you have all become a part of my life. i don't know what i'd do without you.


• my family. for all my grousing about my family, for all the frustration and anger that i frequently vent about my blood-clan, i am thankful for them, because without them i would not be the girl i am today. their largely hands-off method of parenting has left me fiercely independent and tough as nails, because i've always been expected to take care of my day-to-day myself. but without fail, when the shit really goes down, i know they're there for me. and that makes it easier to go out and risk myself to do what i want, because i know that i've got the big guns sitting in the wings to help me with damage control. family, i salute thee! personally, i think you did a pretty good job with me, for all my faults and issues.


• my dreams, and the fact that there are people other than myself who believe in them.


• my voice.


• myself, because i'm pretty fond of who i've become. and because i'm pretty proud of the life i've carved out for myself, warts and all.


• whiskey.

there's more, of course, but those are the big ones.


happy thanksgiving, kids. may yours be warm, trauma-free, and full of a buffy marathon.