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I am grateful for this.

I am grateful for encores.

I am grateful that Max thanked me ‘first and foremost’ at his award ceremony today.

17

I am grateful for this.

I am grateful for this.

I am grateful for the way Gretchen always calls me ‘Madame Gordon’.

16

I am grateful for Max’s interpretative dance of Yentl’s ‘Papa Can You hear Me?’

I am grateful for the pressure cooker. Mung Dal. Mmmmmmm.

I am grateful for the candle Max lights every night for Grady, at the window where he died. So that he can always find us if he needs us. I miss that cat so much it hurts.

15

I am grateful for funny like this.

I am grateful for amazing like this.

I am grateful for weekends like this.

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I am grateful for this press release:

April 9, 2007
Assistant Professor Auffhammer Receives CNR Young Faculty/CE Specialist Award

Assistant Professor Max Auffhammer may be a relative newcomer on the Berkeley campus, but he has already made a big difference. Auffhammer, who has taught at Berkeley since 2003, is the recipient of this year’s CNR Young Faculty/CE Specialist Award. He has a joint appointment in the department of Agriculture and Resource Economics and International Area Studies, and has developed two new courses as well as a seminar for students completing their dissertation.

His students say “Amazing Max is one of the best professors I’ve had at Berkeley; he’s down to earth, accessible, friendly, and funny.”

Along with his extraordinary teaching, Auffhammer has made significant contributions in research. “He has at least seven publications and many other papers under review or in progress. He has received at least ten grants to support his research, and his reputation is increasing yearly,” writes Perloff, “he is off to a good start on a research career, extremely hard working, an outstanding teacher, a spectacularly cooperative member of the faculty, and generous in his public service.”

This year, Auffhammer’s “brown cloud” study was named Paper of the Year by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Only six papers out of 3,300 received the award, which was renamed the Cozzarelli Prize this year.

I am grateful for the new video project I am working on, which has been an idea for almost ten years.

I am grateful that no one made too much fun of the HUGE pimple I have on my chin this weekend. I managed to avoid pimples through high school, college and grad school. How is this happening in my thirties?!

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I am grateful that Ben is in town.

I am grateful for this LP which I found in a record store today. I bought it in high school from a yard sale and loved it. But when I went to college I left it at home, and then my parents sold all the albums. For years I have been looking for it and could never find it. And then today, while rifling through a zillion crates of albums, I saw the pink cover and I swear my heart stopped. I feel like it’s a sign from God that things are going to start getting better.

I am grateful for this. I want one.

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I am grateful for long, caring emails like this one:

Me: hey matty-just checking in to see if you can still pick me up at the airport in Portland next week?

Matty: yo yo yo….hi Lori

absalutamente….only…we’re not ‘picking you up’ per se…as we have no car. but get this. it’s easy as pie to get into town from the airport. i trust you’ll have little more than a carry on on wheels…maybe a shoulder bag…correct me on this though if i’m wrong. will you have luggage that you can maneuver yourself?

if you’ve answered yes to the question above, please go on to part two.

part two.

here is a link: http://trimet.org/pdfs/maps/r193.pdf

let me know if you’re able to view this pdf. it is for the Portland streetcar but also shows just enough info for the MAX line (the BART here)...and conveniently, for you…called ‘MAX’...how could you possibly forget something called ‘MAX’? i ask you.

so here’s a blow by blow…and please put on your simple cap ‘cause it’s just that. not to be made complicated in other words.

there is one…hello…ONE train that leaves from the small airport here heading towards the ‘City Center’ and Beaverton. after you have your bags, get a two dollar ticket from the machine around the corner…where it says transit tickets or something like that. this is the only part where you may slow down a bit. don’t sweat…it’s fairly intuitive. you want a TWO HOUR ticket for ALL AREAS. it’s two bucks.

straight out the door to your right is the MAX line. To the City Center you go. The RED LINE is the train for you honey.

once on the RED LINE to the CITY CENTER (imagine this: there’s a train you take from the airport to downtown Portland…there’s only one..it’s the RED LINE and it’s two bucks. Could they have made this easier for goofballs like us? i don’t think so) you enjoy the ride until …..you…...GET OFF AT:

SW 10th and Morrison. you know this is your stop ‘cause the nice woman in the speakers tells you it’s the LAST STOP IN FARELESS SQUARE. there’s a 12 block area that is free to ride the STREETCAR here (not to be confused with the MAX train).

so you get off at SW 10th and Morrison…..you’ll pass Pioneer Square on your left coming into downtown…like Union Square…there’s a mall and everything…it’s all bricks….you can’t miss it. i believe your stop is next. the MAX moves slowly through town and it’s easy to look around and out the window at street signs.

once you get off at SW 10th and Morrison….(oh..check this all out on the pdf i sent you….you were on the little red line coming from the East…now your going to transfer to the zesty little bronze colored line that heads off to the North) ...WALK across Morrison…along 10th..which simply means….if the train is heading up the street…you want to cross the tracks to the right…or, North towards Alder St. on this block you will see a little MUNI looking stop.

WAIT HERE for the Portland streetcar. your MAX ticket is all you need to ride this puppy as well. Lovingly, there’s a little digital readout at each of these stops that tells you the time, and when the next streetcar will arrive. how nice.

Once on this cute little thing, stay on it for 10 stops i believe. ..nope..it’s 9 stops. take the train all the way to NW 21st st. THIS, is where i or we will meet you. here is my cell number again just in case: xxx-xxx-xxxx.

i know this seems like a freakin’ lot. but it really isn’t.

here’s the user friendly version:

1. take the RED LINE to the City Center/Beaverton.

2. Get off at SW 10th and Morrison

3. walk one half block toward Alder St. and wait for the Streetcar

4. take the streetcar to NW 21st St. (9 stops).

Sheboygan!! it’s that easy.

call me on that cell number if you’d like to make another arrangement for you to get into town.

can’t wait to see you…hug you…talk to you…listen to you…see what you brought to wear…and all that.

-matt c

I am grateful for this. Best use of post-its I’ve seen in a while.

I am grateful for this guy.