So, for those who don't know, the 4th Thursday of every November in the United States is our Thanksgiving. It is a holiday of three minds. The first is that it is a day of giving thanks, and being honestly thankful for them. The second is spending time with their family and eating, usually Turkey and a lot of other food, but a time of family nonetheless. The final is a new one, only done in the last few years, thanks to corporate measures, which is shopping, most of the time with your family.
I want to talk about my mentality on the first mindset of this, what I am thankful for. This month marks my second year podcasting, and it has done a lot for me in the last few years. The first thing I am thankful for is my family, both in reality, especially of my wife of 10 years, Rachel; who not only helps host the Geek I/O and Disney Geek I/O shows, but also put up with my decision to start this whole thing, and also somehow stays supportive, and made up of my Geek I/O family. After being burned, I made a rule of surrounding myself with people whom I could count on and could count as friends. Jon Slater, from whom I have had my biggest supporter and also biggest critic, has been with us since right after the start. Jarred Azevedo joined us in August 2012, when we really started to develop into what we are today, and I am thankful for, because he a lot like me, and I couldn't imagine a better co-host and friend. Raul Garza joined us right around November of 2012, as our first blogger, and started a lot from there. He added not only a new perspective on things, but fankly opened the gates to things like Comic Geek IO, and a lot of my current friendships. Jared Budlong joined us in December as a producer for Tadpool Tech / Geek I/O, and I cannot IMAGINE doing this without him. Since then, he has joined me as my "business partner" and frankly a voice of reason that I did not have before. He brought How it Stacks to the network, and the world was never the same again. Then over time, Darrell Shayler started helping clean up the place, adding his awesome artwork, and eventually starting up his own blog and then hosting Comic Geek I/O whenever we do it.
These people are my best friends, and I could not imagine my life without them, and even if Geek I/O were to fail and go away, I hope they will stay with me, as they are really part of my life. So thank you Jon, Jarred, Raul, Jared, Darrell, Jose (from AWPA.co), Marlissa, Rachel and EVERYONE who listens to the show and reads the site. I am thank ful for all of you, and here's to a lot more great conent, and a BIG 2014! BIG BIG THINGS!
One more thing, thanks for reading, and on the OTHER side of this message is the holiday season. Be great to each other, diversity is an amazing thing, and CELEBRATE it. Just because someone does not yell to you your holiday greeting does not mean they hate you, they just don't want to offend anyone, and that's not a bad thing!
Thank you for reading!
CJ