In my everyday life, I often see the world through Woody Allen or Larry David tinted glasses (as opposed to Oprah Winfrey or Tony Robbins.)  Especially in a city where people exist largely in their hermetically sealed SUVs and enclaves, I’m not always feeling the communal “we’re all in this together” vibe and it’s easy for me to get annoyed and put upon by the frustrations, the injustices, and irritations of the world.  But there are these moments, when I step back and realize that I’ve been blessed with luck and other “bonus offers, “freebies”, and “gold stars” from life, and that I am not Job…God is not jabbing his finger at me and that I should in fact, show some gratitude for those things I enjoy – big and small that are good.  As coined by Martha Stewart – the high priestess of perfection, here’s a shortlist of “good things”.

1. I have ridiculous parking luck. An entire parking lot can be full and yet, I always manage to see someone pulling out just as I’m turning the corner.  I will go to concerts and find street parking in front of the venue and see people staring at me wondering how I snagged a parking spot that could only be reserved for a rock star and/or a Bentley.  In the city of Los Angeles finding a parking spot at the right time is akin to a divine blessing.  So I must take this moment to honor my guardian parking angel…Thanks for all those special spots – at the Farmer’s market at peak hour on Sundays, Arclight theater at prime time Saturday nights, after hour free metered parking on Hollywood Blvd., at the Ranch 99 in Monterey Park.  You have saved me many precious hours of driving around in circles and nasty altercations with other parking vultures swarming freshly opened spots.

2. I rarely have eaten a bad meal. I’d like to say that it’s because I abide by certain foodie ‘Rules to Live By’ that have kept my palate protected from mediocrity.  But, I also realize it’s because I live in the city of Los Angeles which has a tremendous variety of inexpensive dining options from Korean food that’s better than what’s in Korea to thin-crust pizza that rivals the kind in New Haven, CT.  So, I admit I am spoiled.  I won’t be difficult if friends are happy to indulge in an unmemorable meal, but if left to my own devices I will fast or drive 20 miles to avoid consuming anything bland, mediocre, or just bad.  Case in point – I refused to touch any of the meals on a 14 hour China Southern flight to Guangzhou because I could not stomach bad Cantonese airplane food.  I drove for 30 minutes around Joshua Tree to find a local bbq spot because I couldn’t bring myself to eat fast food or at a strip mall establishment.  I will pull over any hour of the day or night if I see some off-kilter taco stand with hunk of meat grilling on a spit in the hope that I will satisfy my quest for the holy grail of tacos al pastor.  I will feel personally betrayed if a critic or food blogger has created undeserved hype over a new restaurant and food phenomenon (eg: Kogi-gate).  Food is one of life’s chief simple pleasures and every meal for me is going to be a gastronomic holiday, goddammit!

3.  I live in the city of amazing flea markets. While the Japanese dealers spend thousands of dollars to fly to Los Angeles every month to hit the Rose Bowl at 5am to scoop up vintage Americana from OG-107 military pants, to 50s Hawaiian dresses, to engineer boots, I have unfettered access to treasure hunt every weekend at the flea – Rose Bowl, Long Beach, Pasadena City College, etc.  This also increases my odds of serendipitous discoveries like a 1929 Elgin Louise Boulanger deco watch which I extracted from a box full of dusty old watch parts.  It was priced for consumers in 1929 for $35, could sell today for probably around $100-300 and the dealer sold it to me for $10.  How does one dig through all the polyester pants, shag rugs, cracked dishware, and costume jewelry to get to the good stuff?  Training your eye to catch the diamonds in the rough or under the pile, seeing where the Japanese dealers are snooping, being patient and of course, lucky.

4. I have never broken a bone in my body or been involved in anything that required being sent to the ER. Indeed, that may not be surprising for someone who was was sheltered from most “outdoorsy” activities having been raised by Chinese immigrants who found it strange that Americans would pay money to sleep on dirt and piss in the woods.  However, I did have my share of contact sports and, exposure to flying limbs and weaponry.  I played basketball, practiced wushu, and grew up with an older brother who enjoyed knocking me around when we did mock WWF fights as a way to pass idle time in our childhood.  Also, within the first few years of living in Los Angeles, I was in four car accidents with two of them resulting in “total losses” and, experienced a near-death car crash scenario.  I was driving 80mph heading on the 101 south freeway while sleep-deprived and was knocked out of my zombie trance when a car cut into my lane.  Like an idiot, I flinched and braked.  My car spun out and stopped three feet away from the guardrail that separated me from a ten-story drop.  I was relieved I didn’t crash into or over the guardrail.  But, I did find myself now turned around and facing oncoming traffic.  Fortunately it was extremely late and the few cars on the road were far enough way to to slow down.  I was then able to turn my car around and proceed like nothing happened.  So on those bad days, when I’m griping about something trivial I play back that memory to remind myself of how lucky I am.

5.  Amongst the holy trinity of electronic and now, digital devices – cell phone/pda, tv, and computer, I’ve never had a device freak out or break down on me within the first three years of use. Yes, I’ve had systems crash, but I’ve always been able to reboot within seconds or minutes.  Yes, some systems have eventually failed but usually well after I’m still lagging at least 3 generations behind the latest newfangled device.  I’ve always been able to proudly declare that I don’t need to upgrade to the next new thing until my old thing falls apart.  In fact, I may have been the last to use an Apple SE and still enjoy the roaring hard drive that could challenge a leaf blower or garbage truck hydraulics system to a sound-off.

What makes you lucky?