001 Family

This is day one of the #100DaysToOffload challenge by Kev Quirk.

I used to blog as a means of introspection: to learn about myself. It was also interesting, in retrospect, to remember what I used to think, and how I used to think. The entries showed how these things changed over time.

This time it will be used to change how I think. So in this time of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, this will be gratitude journal, starting with this first post:

I am grateful for my lovely family, and all the happiness they bring to my life.

002 Coffee

I am grateful for coffee, especially on cold, rainy, early mornings.

003 Hot showers

I am grateful for hot showers. They are possibly the best thing ever.

004 Health

I am grateful for my family's health, and by extension the services that make that possible at the moment.

005 Parenting

I am grateful to be a parent, it is a totally unique relationship.

007 Safety

I am so so grateful that we live in a relatively safe part of the world, where I wouldn't fear my kids walking to school some day.

008 Shelter

I am grateful to have a home. It's warm and filled with books.

009 Work

I hate being idle. So, especially at a time like this, I'm grateful to have work.

010 Food and water

I am grateful that we never go hungry or thirsty.

011 Freedom

I am grateful to have freedom of movement, speech and thought.

012 Sleep

Our eldest is starting to sleep through the night, and the youngest falls asleep fairly easily now. In short, I am grateful to be getting more sleep nowadays.

013 Friends

So I'm grateful to have friends, but I thought it would be worthwhile giving them one post each. This one is to Bjorn, thanks for being my best friend, you've made my life better.

014 Friends

I'm grateful to have Nish as a friend. He's the kind of guy that loves a laugh, is always up for a hit of golf or a bike ride. Father of one. Great to argue with about stupid topics.

015 Friends

I'm grateful to have Tom as a friend. He's great to swap advice home projects and have a game of tennis or squash. Always looking for a better job. Also a father of two, so there's plenty to catch-up about.

016 Friends

Sam, for keeping me sane through the years spent at the start-up, and always being keen for coffee and a chat.

017 Friends

Laurisa, for supporting me at work, and for crazy afternoon conspiracy theories.

018 Friends

Wotan, for getting me into the gym originally and being a genuinely nice guy. Great conversation about finance, the economy and sushi.

019 Education

Well, there goes the "daily post" part of this challenge.

I've spent most of the past few weeks working on the latest article, check it out. I'm grateful for my education, which has allowed me to pick this sort of thing up as a hobby.

020 Friends

Ash, for being a great friend! I must have known him for 10 years or so now. He's a great developer and very productive -- he even helped get this website off the ground.

021 Friends

Laura, for being tough as bricks and a big softy all at the same time. Chronic addiction to all things Harry Potter.

022 Friends

Steve, for being the best dungeon master ever. Cool guy, very technical with a wicked sense of humor.