Okay, today's date as I write this is October 8th, 2007. This is going to eventually be posted on my Gamespot blog as my post for the Thanksgiving Holiday. In other words, I am writing it a bit in advance of when the expected due date is. I'm writing it because, for whatever reason, I got to thinking today about the things that I am thankful for. (No, I am not drunk or stoned in any way, shape or form. I was just feeling introspective.) As I was thinking these deep, introspective thoughts, I kept thinking the same thought over and over again. I am incredibly thankful that I have the ChiliDragon in my life. When I write the list of the things that I am most thankful that I have, the list starts and ends with her, because without her, nothing else in my life would really mean anything to me. That comes out as sounding a bit obsessive, but it is true. I may joke around constantly about various things, including my now famous (infamous?) "I would plow that action" line in reference to Mitsuru Kirijo from Persona 3, but she doesn't mind because I think she knows that, like my references to ogling the native girls in Spain, I don't really mean it. (Well, I might mean the native girl ogling references just a little bit…) I am the most fortunate man alive when it comes to my wife. I'm sure a number of my fellow, married or otherwise attached, bloggers will disagree with me. You're all wrong. I'm right. I've got the best woman in the world. I had to drag her over across two continents and an ocean to get her here, but I did it and now she's all mine.

Growing up, I had a lot of things that I wanted to accomplish in my life. When I was a boy I alternated back and forth between wanting to be an archeologist and study dinosaurs (really, what young boy ever born didn't want to be an archeologist at some point?) and be a professional basketball player and play on the Lakers with Magic Johnson. (It didn't occur to me at that point that Magic might ever grow old. It certainly never occurred to me that he'd "attain" the HIV virus as he so famously put it and retire from the NBA still in the prime of his career.) As I entered into the rather painful transition years between boyhood and becoming a man, I eventually decided that I also wanted a really hot, but also extremely intelligent and caring, woman to share my life with at some point. Well, as we grow older we learn to prioritize what really matters. I never ended up studying dinosaurs. At 5'10", I eventually realized that the Lakers were never going to ink me a contract to come and play for them. However, during college I did eventually meet that really hot/intelligent/caring woman that I wanted to share my life with. She got bonus points for being Swedish (No more excuses from folks not knowing this! I've mentioned it at least a half-dozen times now.) and loving all my favorite activities, including video games. Now we get to the fun part of this blog. I didn't tell her that right away. In fact, it took me over two years to tell her. It wasn't because I was shy. I haven't been described as shy by most people since high school. No, very early on in my relationship with the ChiliDragon, she informed me that she didn't have a lot of guy friends because she had a hard time keeping her guy friends since they always ended up falling for her and things always ended awkwardly when she wasn't interested. (Yeah, I know. It sounds a bit conceited. I never claimed the ChiliDragon wasn't conceited. Besides, I fell for her too so I guess maybe she had a point.) So for two years I ran what was the best clandestine operation of my entire life. I became her best friend. I was her confidant, the person she talked over her problems with when she had them, her shoulder when she needed one, and all the rest of the things that are usually associated with being a woman's best male friend who just happens to be flaming gay. It was a very, very long two years.

Then, one day I told her that I wanted us to be more than friends. In retrospect, it was a bit of an unfair spot to put her in. I very deliberately backed her into a corner where her two choices were that she either chose to give me a shot or risk losing me. To her credit, she picked the right option. (Hey, I never said that I wasn't a little conceited either now did I? Anyone who blogs online has to be at least a little bit conceited.) We'll have been together for six years now in December. Every so often, I still make sure to say "I told you so" to her to remind her that I was right and that this was a good idea. She always gives me a look when I do that suggests she can find a very good divorce lawyer, but hey, I know she doesn't really mean it. If this script sounds like something that might make Hollywood cream their pants over and immediately ask for the rights to make it their next great romantic comedy, well, that's entirely coincidental. I know that this is a bit of a departure from the usual tone of my blogging, but every once in a while I am capable of being serious. So on this uniquely American holiday, let me say to whatever higher power that may or may not exist, thank you for putting the ChiliDragon in my life. Thank you for leading me to my soul mate. Thank you for ignoring my other silly demands for what I thought I wanted most in my life, and giving me what I really needed.