My melancholy whores...i mean, woes.

Judging from my lack of email these days, I'm beginning to think that my depression and bleakness of spirit is driving everyone away. Therefore, this post will be devoted to counting my blessings, so as to show that I too can see the glass as half full. Or at least not as pointlessly empty as I had feared.

So. Ahem.

My "Blessings" (by which term I do not intend to mean "gifts bestowed by a higher power", but rather "ways in which I, for whatever reason, happen to perhaps be more fortunate than others.")

1. With the exception of a vast array of dental problems, various infections, a cold, and several moles that may or may not be cancerous, I am healthy.

2. All of my limbs are present and functioning.

3. I am employed, with a steady paycheck and medical benefits (notice I didn't say a high paycheck, nor great benefits, but that is a discussion for another post).

4. I am no longer overweight.

5. I can run three miles in 30 minutes, which I've never been able to do before, having hated running like it was the spawn of satan since childhood. Although even now my right hip aches for the rest of the day.

6. I have a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in at night, and plenty of food on the table (nothing funny about that, sorry).

7. I am not insane, or at least not so much so that I walk around yelling at the voices in my head, or at the librarians in my local public library.

8. I am in a steady, long-term relationship with someone who presumably loves me despite my often irritating habit of hating the entire world and everyone in it.

9. I have an adorable cat who, while maybe not quite understanding the concept of love, at least accepts with good humor all the pets, kisses, hugs, cuddles, and cat food I lavish upon her. (Except when she's in a bad mood, and then she cannot abide the sight of my fat ugly face.)

10. Umm, ten. Teeeeennnnn.....OK. I have fairly reliable Internet access, without whose fruits of popular culture and online bill-paying/shopping convenience I would not be able to live.

11. All of my immediate family members are still alive and are more or less on speaking terms with one another.

12. While violence is not exactly unheard of in this area of the world, I don't generally have to fear for my life walking down the street and going about my normal everyday activities. Americans only start wars; we don't live with the consequences of them.

Alrighty, then. I think that's enough blessings for one post. Don't expect me to keep up this Miss Mary Sunshine act, though.

P.S. No word yet on whether I will be able to go back to my old job. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that bureaucracies move at the pace of geologic time. It could be weeks before I know anything for sure.