Remember Valentine's day 2004, when San Francisco county started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples?

Thousands of couples showed up. Some from the other side of the planet, some from the other side of town. The County Clerk was overwhelmed and there weren't nearly enough wedding officiants to keep up. So they put out a call for volunteers to be deputized by the Clerk as county marriage commissioners. I volunteered and officiated at dozens of ceremonies at city hall.

Still have my official commission hanging on my wall.

They made a rule against using bird houses in a demolition contest because of me. It’s not my fault they asked for the most effective way of getting through a steel plate instead of the most precise.

Going to talk therapy. Getting married and having kids really pushed me and helps me keep going on the hardest days. I cannot have mental illness affect their lives like it did mine growing up.

I have three kids. I was present for the birth of the youngest two. But I adopted my oldest. She was 12 so she had to tell the judge she was OK with it. I told her it came with two conditions: Nothing between us needed to change and she didn't have to call me "Dad". She calls me by first name to my face but she calls me "dad" behind my back. I'll take it.

It just so happens I'm proud of something I did two hours ago as I write this sentence. A friend of mine said they needed a constant companion for the time being, and another friend said they needed a certain demographic to be friends with, and after realizing the first friend fell under that demographic, I thought "wait, do these two people know each other". Three hours ago as I write this sentence, I introduced them, and they really hit it off. I just made three people very happy.

In 2007, I, a non-white non-Korean, took a job in South Korea. Then, I took another. Then, at the third job, I was hired, but the owner's brother was amenable to some of the more racist thoughts that guided the approach to business in SK. He thought I would hurt the business. He resisted hiring another non-white, non-Korean.

The owner asked me to write a letter. Instead of saying, "that's not my job", I wrote the letter. I made the case. They hired another non-white, non-Korean after me.

I'm still pretty proud of that letter.

Surviving

Being pleasant and helpful to customers at work. What I do is by no means important, but I take pride in doing it well (or at least trying to). Too many people in customer service are bored, apathetic, or act like you’re bothering them by asking them to do their jobs. I like to make people smile.

I quit smoking. Had too many downsides to be justifiable.

When I was still in a band we played the same venue that I saw one of my favorite bands play at once. That was really cool, even though it was on a Monday and we just played to other bands.

Being part of a team that helped a child learn to communicate in their own way. They went from dangerous head banging behaviors, having to work in a padded room to sitting at a desk with nearly no SIB. Not all wine and roses but damn it’s night and day over the last 2 years.

I took up an instrument for the first time in my late 30s and have gotten okay at it. If I was 8 years old people would nod politely to my parents after my recital.

I made some mods for a few games. People still use 'em.

I'm 20. I haven't made it big but I've moved into a place with my best friend, have paid off my car without help from my dad, have a steady job making good money, can work on my own car, and have friends that make good company. I'd say I'm proud from getting all of this in the 2 years since high school

Over the past year my AVG daily step count is over 15k.

Brushing my teeth. I've been through progressive hard depression from an early age. Yeah. It's not much

Sometimes I proud of myself of just solving problems that haven't settled in days, which makes me a bit of achievement.

Something I wrote has been read on every continent.

When helping someone knowing very well that I won't get anything from them in return.

Getting involved in local street design projects, and making a literally concrete difference.

Raising two kids with my wife and being a very supportive friend to someone who is raising their first child on their own.

Small thing, but I pride myself on it.

Stuff keeps breaking in my house. I hate fixing the stuff, but I always feel super proud when it's done.

In the last month I replaced an electrical outlet that released its magic smoke when the electric griddle cord short circuited. I replaced the igniter in our gas oven. And just today I replaced the insinkerator garbage disposal that started leaking water under the sink.