Thanksgiving is upon us, and I’ve seen a few TV shows where they were making it a point to actually give thanks for some of the things in their lives. Being totally uncreative, I’ve decided to steal that idea. The more I thought about it, even though I can talk trash about working in a cube for hours, there’s quite a bit that I can be thankful for as well.

While working in an office cubicle, and being lost among a sea of horrid half-walls and industrial carpet is not exactly living the high life, at least it is a living. By ‘a living’, of course I mean it pays my bills…most of them anyway. With the state of the U.S. economy still in recovery mode, this year I am thankful that I still have a decent job. Sure, I may not love everything I’m doing, or get some sort of deep down satisfaction at the end of each day, but I’m a lot better off than those who didn’t make it through the 4 rounds of job cuts my company went through earlier this year.

I squeaked through with a 10% pay cut for half of the year, but at the end of it all, I still had a full time job. Every once in a while, I actually recognize how bad the finances were at my company in order for them to be forced to lay off so many people. In those times of recognition, like right now, I say thank you for that pay cut, and thank you for letting me lead my simple lifestyle without making too many changes.

As we all know, the office can be filled with a bunch of annoying characters. Maybe they’re trying to make awkward conversation with you in the kitchen, or jumping into your cube unexpectedly, ignoring some basic cube etiquette. Maybe they smell, or don’t even recognize the things you do. There’s tons of things to complain about with coworkers, but hey, they spice up the potential monotony of the day as well. If everyone in my office had a completely neutral personality, with no quirks or issues to deal with, I’d have a lot less to talk about.

That’s not even a reference to Office Cube Life, I mean in general. Whether you’re in the elevator, out at lunch, or having a beer…coworkers give you a lot of material to talk about with your friends and other coworkers. So this year, I say thank you to the guy that forgets to flush in the bathroom. I say thanks to the guy that doesn’t even know I exist, and ignores me because I’m not in a suit. You guys may not be my buddies, or the type of people I’d want to be stuck in an elevator with, but you make my day a little more interesting.

At the end of the day, I’m very happy to have my little web job. Who am I to complain, when there are whole families struggling to stay afloat, and I’m still paying $80 a month for my gym membership. Just this once, everything is okay with life, and I love working in my little office cubicle.

I love Friday. There I said it. Sometimes even the most obvious fact needs to be said out loud. After all….I’m talking about Friday here! I know every one of you out there loves Friday just as much as I do. I usually don’t like sharing things to this extent, but I will make an exception for the benefit of office workers everywhere and allow you all to love the one I hold closest to my heart.

Everyone has had one of those weeks where everything was going wrong, taking longer than expected, getting on your nerves and just destroying all of the joy in life. It seems hopeless, like there is no way for your misery to end. We’ve all been there, and we’ve all made it through. Why? Because everyone knows from early on in life that no matter how miserable your week is, you’ll eventually hit Friday. It serves as a beacon in the night, guiding you through the darkness. Once that whistle blows, you’re off the clock and freedom is yours!

Not only does Friday give you some motivation to make it through the work week, it’s also the most understanding of days. Maybe you went out on Thursday night, and have a killer hangover. That’s okay, because Friday understands. Maybe you’re thinking about an upcoming concert on Saturday and have already mentally checked out for the week. That’s fine, Friday never expects too much out of you anyway. Friday even has a lot of clout in the business world, influencing managers and bosses everywhere to be a little more relaxed than usual. Just think how often you’ve heard something to the effect of “Don’t worry, it’s Friday. We can worry about it next week”.

Any day that has it’s own slogan has got to be a good one. You never hear anyone say TGIM (Thank God It’s Monday), it’s TGIF! People love this day so much, they even started a restaurant chain named after that slogan: TGI Friday’s. Just think about that for a second. Some people were going to start a restaurant, and it came time to pick the name. They sat around, and thought “Let just make it easy, and name it something that is impossible not to love…something about Friday…we can’t lose!”

So the next time you find yourself crammed in a cube working on boring things that don’t interest you just so you can pay your rent, just take a second and think of Friday. You know it’ll always be there, waiting and ready to give you some much needed relaxation.

In closing, I find that I am moved to write Friday a poem. I’ll give it a fitting, clever name…how about “Friday, A Poem”

The week is young, and the pain it starts,
As if Monday’s only purpose is to blacken our hearts;
Forever it goes, the work never ending,
A happy employee, but always pretending;
Will it end before I meet my grave,
A whisper of encouragement, ‘Just Be Brave’;
From where did it come, a voice far away,
But then I realize, it came from Friday;
A simple reminder that I’m strong enough to survive,
And make it until the weekend, when my soul may thrive;
Thank you Friday, for guiding me through,
No other way to say it, I truly love you.