Giving Thanks and Wishing You A Happy Holiday!

As the American holiday of Thanksgiving approaches and many of us prepare to spend it with our families…we wanted to take a moment to send out our best wishes to those of you from the community who celebrate the holiday – regardless of where you may be located. So from all of us here at Paragon Studios…please have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving!

In the spirit of this occasion, the Community Relations Team thought it would be nice to start a little thread that allows us to reflect a bit and share what we are thankful for this year, in an attempt to keep in the forefront of our minds what the Thanksgiving holiday signifies. We invite you all to add posts to this thread and share what you are thankful for, too.

This year I personally have a great deal to be thankful for; not only do I work with the best community on the internet, but I am also recently engaged to my girlfriend who, for reasons known only to herself, has agreed to marry me. This Thanksgiving will mark our first with the extended family. Not only that, but my 1 year anniversary as an employee of Paragon Studios is rapidly approaching. I’d like to thank all of you for making this last year the most rewarding professionally of my life. I have never felt so happy to come into work every day and I look forward to working (and interacting) with all of you folks for as long as they’ll let me!

I am not so familiar with Thanksgiving; this is not something I’ve ever celebrated wherever I’ve lived. Thanksgiving, to me, was something you’d see on TV, and while I knew about the turkey and mashed potatoes consumption, the etymology of the word never seemed to make sense. Are you supposed to be thankful to the turkey for providing you food? To the potatoes for being so yummy and mashable? Well, the way I am seeing this is that we do indeed need to acknowledge all the circumstances that have converged to make the meal available on our table, the mere existence of the people we love and love us.

So, here I go!

I am thankful for everything in my life that’s made me strong, sensitive, sometimes sensible, rarely witty, often clumsy, and above all for my family and all the people I’ve met, loved and been loved by. I am thankful for discovering a City of Heroes game box on a shelf in a PC World store on a rainy Sunday in the late English Winter and for the most bizarre chain of events that has resulted in me working here at the Paragon Studios with extraordinary people and extraordinary players on an extraordinary game that’s so much more than just a game. And all that wouldn’t have been possible if my brother hadn’t bought all his comics when I was younger, making me a sucker for all thing super-heroic!

So to all of you across the globe, you may not be celebrating Thanksgiving per se, but acknowledge the good in your life and recognize that City of Heroes kicks donkeys!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

*tear* TheOcho and Avatea are sooo sappy and sweet...

I am truly thankful for having an awesome boss that's going to let me head home as soon as I hit, "Submit Reply"

I am also very thankful to be healthy, happy and alive.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I am thankful that you guys and everyone that works on this game from CoHV,to the forums to the Titan Network can provide me and my wife with an escape from the hardships of life.
To make new friends and just plain old have fun.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Congrats TheOcho

I'm thankful for my family and friends

I...

I'm a 37 year old person who hasn't had a date in almost eight years. I haven't seen or heard from my mother in at least twelve years, or my father in fifteen. My employer is having a small dinner at the restaurant tomorrow, for friends, family and employees, and I'll be staying home, just as I did the previous two years, because my fear of people is too overwhelming for me to participate. I'll spend Thanksgiving like I've spent most of my life, alone.

But I'm still thankful. I've managed to survive on my own, without medication or being readmitted to a hospital, or anyone holding my hand, for almost twenty years now. I've known some truly worthwhile and amazing people in my life, people who have changed me for the better. I have a cat who adores me and is so beautiful, it's breathtaking. I have a job where I'm appreciated, an employer who genuinely cares about my well-being, and a sense of purpose. I've had the same roof over my head for over ten years now, a place of stability and comfort. I have a moped. I have two working lungs, despite the attempted mutiny of the left one earlier this year. I have a little money in the bank, a few nice things to keep me occupied and this incredible game and community to give me a little socialization and entertainment. I have enough self-awareness, intelligence and sanity to function, if not well, then well enough to get by each day. And I continue to hold on to hope, hope that some day "things will change".

I'm thankful for all of the things, and people, that I have and have had in my life. I'm thankful for what I've lost as well, because it's given me perspective on what is important and made me grateful for what I haven't lost, and every day is a day of thanksgiving for me because of all of this.

I hope all of you can look at your own lives and see all of the wonderful people and things and memories, and appreciate them. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

well em, i kind of am with you on the not all great things happened this year, lost my grandmother with whom i was incredibly close after a completely baffling downturn in her health while being treated for minor bruise on her hip from her falling. but you know, she had family with her to the very end, a luxury many residents t the care center didnt seem to enjoy, so there was no goodbye that should have been said and wasn't. But i am still thankful for the 34 years i had her with me, and for the friends that reaffirmed why i was lucky to have them when i needed them (even you goofballs, silly discussions about sci-fi and gaming minutia was a oft-needed pressure release in some days that were far from pleasent).

This also was the year i left a job that i enjoyed but made very little on for a new job that pays a fair bit more and has oppertunities for progress. in a year when a lot of people have been scroungeing for work, i would be foolish not to be thankful that i have a job, even a fairly ok one for the area.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

I am thankful that my son's Leukemia has gone into remission. I am thankful the chemo he will be on for the next year has not made him too ill even if it has drained his energy levels.

I am thankful for the people in my life who understand my oddities and even love me for them.

I am thankful for a game that allows me to be someone else for a little while when reality gets closer and the mirror message "things in the mirror may be closer than they appear" begins to scream at me.

I am thankful to have been blessed with an imagination and sense of humor. I am thankful for it not because of the attention it sometimes gets me, but because it has been warm blanket, sturdy shield and occasionally trusty sword through some very hard times.

I am thankful for every breath I draw in; for it is filled with potential. With these breaths I can give birth to communication. I can laugh, sing, sigh or sob. With each breath I draw within me life. With each exhalation I rid myself of that which would poison me. When the world has me cornered and the distance until dawn seems like a never-ending dark highway... I breathe. Just breathe.

I am thankful actually for how this game changed my life, (note this is basically a repost of something I posted in the art forums about a month ago).

A year ago through playing this game I met the player EnnVee. Through her natural kind nature she has helped me to turn my life around for the better and help to lift my life to heights that they have never been before. She has become a confidant and her and the rest of the SG that we share has become a truly wonderrful thing in my life. They have helped me overcome many obstacles, in particular coming to terms with my homosexuality and various other personal problems. I am incredibly thankful for all the help I ahve recieved through this gaming community and the kind hearted people that inhabit it. If you have someone in your life that you know through any medium that is struggling, or if you've had someone help you like I have in a mentor like fashion, help them out and show them how much they matter.

Happy Thanksgiving to all U.S. gamers and Season's Wishes to all other CoX players.

I am thankful that "Thanksgiving" isn't the only day of the year that I am thankful for the wonderful people and puppies in my life.

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Chris ... oops, to early.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Don't forget those without family or those who go hungry.

Still waiting for the Giant Turkey invasion of Paragon City.

Happy Thanksgiving to all

I'm thankful that, being British, I won't have to work Black Friday in a retail store in America :P

I'm thankful for having the friends that I do that I met through this game, for not having to go anywhere near hospital again. Last Thanksgiving I was in a ward recovering after fairly major surgery. The food was awful, the morphine was awful, the nurses lovely if a little scary at times, and the blood transfusion I am thankful for.

Thankful for my family too in that they're as nuts as I am, hoping that my writing ability will return, it's been gone long enough, and that I'll get to see my friends more and have a better job to lavish them, and myself with gifts.

Also thankful for my information on zombies, just in case I ever get caught up in a zombie apocalypse.

For my family. Love them deeply and dearly.
For my friends. They keep me grounded and keep faith in myself.
For the people who aren't my friends, for they show me how I can improve myself.
For the fact that I have a job I enjoy in this difficult time.
For the fact that I am still living. Where there is life, there is hope.
For the fact that I will be stuffing my face today among the people that are the best in the world to me.
For pineapple upside down cake, and the fact that my grandma still makes it for me.
For the troops who keep this nation free. Bless you, father-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law.
For the fact that even though I work in retail, I work at Tractor Supply Co, so it shouldn't be too insane tomorrow.
For this great game which has brought me closer to more people than I could ever realize, both in the United States and abroad.
For VICTORY!!

I'm thankful for the folks who created and maintain CoH, as they've given me over five years of excitement, entertainment, and a blissful distraction from a life that far too often is hard road and thorn bushes rather than the beer and skittles it should be.

I'm thankful that they've allowed me to actually be a PART of this game, from working on the CoH comic arc, to helping with the Ouroboros arc that adapts the comics, to working on the new Guest Architect story. (And I'm double-dog thankful for the Cyrus Thompson statue in King's Row, by the way; every time one of my heroes goes by it, I stop and salute, and get a lump in my throat...every darned time).

And I'm really thankful for the player base of this game, and for the folks on these boards especially. I read a lot of message boards, mainly for professional reasons, but this is the one that's most made me feel like family (OK, sometimes it's the Manson family, but still...). I've become, if I may be so presumptuous, friends with many of you folks, I've gotten all kinds of assistance both in and out of the game, and hey, I've entertained my girlfriend by reading her countless posts about my pants or the lack thereof (poor girl; she has to witness that horror IN PERSON).

Anyway, have a very happy Thanksgiving, and remember: don't overeat. It means there will be less for me...

I'm thankful for Troy's Zuni Doll avatar. It gets me.... EVERY TIME.

I'm thankful for the people in life that made and still make a difference for me. One especially, although she knows that already, heh.

I'm thankful for overall good health, despite what Uni is doing to my diet (dangnabit!)

I'm thankful to my mate Nigel, who built this awesome PC that allows me to enjoy CityOf on a whole new level, and thankful to the Dev team for being generally really kickass.

I'm thankful that, for all the evil and selfishness and dark days on this Earth, there are people out there who care. That make a difference. That won't give in until there is no more fights left to win, no more obstacles or hardships left unconquered.

I'm thankful for the Heroes. And even for the Villains because, as I learned at two schools, it's what we do and don't do that defines us.

Ya'll don't eat too much turkey now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

I'm thankful that I have a stable family to spend Thanksgiving with, and a stable job in these tough econimic times. I'm thankful for this game that I've made so many friends through, and has given me a release for the frustrations of life.

I, too, have lost a family member this year. My father passed away over the summer from gallbladder cancer, and even though there will be one less seat at the table this year, I am grateful for the time I did get to spend with him, knowing that not everyone is lucky enough to have a loving family, and I am grateful for my family members who live on and have been there for me.

Happy Thanksgiving, heroes!

I'd like to take the time to thank the Posi and the behind the scenes crew for keeping the game interesting.

I'd like to thank Back Alley Brawler and Castle for keeping it real on the forums, even when they have a gag on on them

I'd like to thank Avatea, Ocho and Niviene for putting up wih us .

I'd like to thank each and every forum member for giving me interesting reading material while I am at work.

Finally, I would like to send a special Thank You to all of the Vets and Active duty people out there for doing what I could not.

Have a happy and safe Holiday everyone

"Sorry bucko, but CoH and CoV are the same game." -BackAlleyBrawler
"Silly villain, CoX is for Heroes!" -Saicho

I want to thank the devs for loving this game, the community relations folk for loving this game, the players for loving this game, and the forums for having an ignore feature for when the love (or lack thereof) gets too annoying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.

I'm thankful for having a job! A few weeks ago, that was seriously in doubt. The company I work for decided months ago that they were going to lay off around half my department and outsource around half of who was left. I was one of the ones who ended up getting outsourced. The company we're being transferred to is actually matching our previous salaries and benefits, and even giving credit with the new company for all of the time we worked at the original company.

While thankful for my own situation, I'm also hopeful for those who are unemployed. I've been in your spot before, when I got laid off at the tail end of the dot-com bubble bursting. It was extremely frustrating and demoralizing. When you feel like you're at your wit's end (and I know you do), please remember that things will get better. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but don't give up. I assure you that ten or twenty years from now, you'll be like me, what you're going through will be just a rough part of you life that you had to go through to get where you'll be then.

I'm also thankful for the cool stuff I get to play with as creator of the Paragon Wiki and part of the Titan Network. I'm so geeky that stuff like working on backup scripts and performing upgrades and tuning services is my demented idea of fun, and I get to do a lot of that in my spare time. I'm also thankful for the overwhelming interest that people have in the sites. Aggelakis, since you've posted in this thread, I'll call you out by name. If the Paragon Wiki were still just my project, it would suck in comparison to what it's like today thanks specifically to the hard work of people like her. Here's a full list of administrators; if you run across them, be sure to give them a nod and say thanks.

I'm thankful we have cool people in the CoH community who do things like set up the Real World Hero charity drive. Yes, maybe it's a merciless plug, but the charities they're sponsoring are very worthwhile organizations, and as you're mulling over how thankful you are, I hope you'll stop by and drop something in the bucket. Every dollar really does count! It's a great chance to not only show the sick, the children, and our brave service members that you care, but to show the world in a tangible way how cool City of Heroes players are. Do eet now!

I'm thankful for my family and friends. My mom and dad both passed away a few years ago, and I have just a top-notch group of sisters that would drop everything on a dime if I ever needed anything. I also have some really good friends who are close, including Belle, who a bunch of you on Infinity probably know. She may very well be the coolest person on the planet, and she has limitless ability to keep things sane and fun. Lately, she has even been helping me to live a bit healthier, and helping me to do little things to live more economically and ecologically.

There's a bunch of other stuff too, but this post is already getting a bit too long. Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving!