Thankful
Sunday, 30 November 2008 Jacob TomawWe were visiting Indiana the last 4 days. We had a good time with family for Thanksgiving, shopping, and Jonah’s first birthday, a few days early.
I am thankful for many things this year: my faith, my wife, son and extended family, my health, my liberty, my readers to this two-bit-blog.
My job at Orbitz is also one of the many things I am thankful for. Before coming to Orbitz, I had three jobs I had voluntarily left in four years. I have now been at Orbitz for two and a half years, the longest by far. Recently I was moved to a different team. I think this will be a great opportunity and it is the first time I have changed groups at an employer. I am under no illusion that this will be my last job. I am sure something better will come up or I could be laid off, but for now it is great.
Over the break a colleague sent out a Thanksgiving message to all Orbitz employees. His message of why he is thankful for Orbitz really rang home for me and I asked him if I could reprint it. Here it is:
All,
Today I find that I have much to be thankful for.
I’m thankful that I work in a culture that supports open sharing of ideas and passions, things mundane and of great import, and that through your willingness to be open and share I’ve found commonality and friendship.
I’m thankful that I work in an environment rich with truly challenging problems, and that when I offer my time and energy towards their solution, I’m never turned away.
I’m thankful that I sit next to people I trust; trust to do their best work, to care about the details and how they fit in the bigger picture, to keep me on my toes and help me improve – even when that means telling me that I’m dead wrong (yes, it’s happened).
I’m thankful that when people leave Orbitz they usually send out a goodbye email, expressing how much they’ve enjoyed working here, and encouraging us to keep in touch… and that there’s usually a group of people that get together for drinks and stories on their last day.
I’m thankful that as I sit down to dinner tonight, there are trusted captains at our central command keeping watch over the system, and that if there were an emergency, many of us would respond.
I’m thankful that the work we do helps families come together on days like today, and that at the end of a long day at the office I can come home and be proud of what we’re all doing.
I’m thankful for each of the many people worldwide that make up OWW, and keep it a great place to work. Thank you. May each of you have a warm and memorable Thanksgiving.
- Jason

