The Happiness Thread

My relative has been discharged from the hospital.

 

Multi-month unemployment has ended. One agency left in city that I'm on good terms with will roll the dice on me. Starting Monday. Must tell beer store not to serve me mon-thurs. -_-

 

Awesome!

 

Playing Mario Maker for the Wii-U. You create your own Mario level with all the cool stuff the games have to offer. Of course, it just been released so new stuff will be added periodically, but still, awesomeness from Nintendo!

 

I love my job.

 

We get to start decorating for Halloween outside today! we are already off to a late start, usually we are full on Spooky mode by Sept 1st.

 

Took a light nap (never do that much, felt surprisingly better afterward) and started a new roleplay in Skyrim, an Altmer warrior who serves to protect mankind.*

* The context is that in the game, his kin's government, the Thalmor, want to kill all the non-elven races and obliterate reality and he serves an example of one who isn't like them.

I also had two cups of coffee so that's always good.

So basically I've had a relaxing day today.

 

I wrote 2,338 words today!

 

I've always been impressed with my son's writing ability as a child, I mean I am his mom but he wrote fun stuff. He's not written fiction as an adult but he is a voracious reader.

So it surprises me when he has such knowledgeable comments about my work. Like today when we were discussing a chapter over lunch and he suggested I change it up to increase the conflict.

Who do you know that isn't a writer but understands the importance of conflict in fiction?

Amazing.

 

Random dog made my day when he refused to leave after a petting and chin scratch.

 

Just realized that I can move the inciting incident of my 9,000-word (or so) short story back from the 5,000 word mark ( ) to around 2,500 simply by rearranging a few things.

 

Didn't take my meds today, but managed to somewhat think myself out of feeling slow. It helps that I now have a reference point for what a normal/superior level of energy and motivation feels like. The key seems to be to look at things as challenges instead of chores. If I can manage to solve that side of it, I'll get rid of 50-65% of the problem even when I don't take anything that isn't sold OTC.

 

New month, new avatar. I am happy. For this minute anyhow. lol

 

I'm so happy !! This morning I applied to 4 universities for a master degree, and I received an offer two hours later !! This is going to motivate me to do my homework !!

 

After this week I only have two more weeks left in two of my courses. Yes!

 

New job has bailed out laptop. Just have to learn to type again.

 

I've won first place again in our company's Chili War. Four consecutive years entered, took second, second, first, and first.

And each entry completely different.

 

Don't work too hard I'm going to need your help with an essay in a couple of weeks!

 

I feel very content. My anxiety is completely under control, and I'm thinking on how to capitalize this while also allowing myself patience and time. Teaching yourself a different way of thinking takes a long time, not like a computer where you can just flip a switch and you're done. But I'm happy now, for once my anxiety has left me alone.

 

Yay! Back online, after a 10-day hiatus while BT figured out how to put a plastic router into the post. (It IS rocket science, apparently.) It's so hard being an internet supplier, isn't it? My favourite excuse of the ones I received this trip was "Your router is stuck in our system due to technical difficulties." Would that be a euphemism for 'some numpty forgot to put the order through?'

Anyway. No time to be a bitter bitch, eh? I'm off to tackle the 59 personal emails that await my attention.

 

I finished my first novel of course there's a looot to edit, but right now I'm focusing on a new project . And I bought my plane ticket for Dublin, can't wait to move to a new country !!

 

The smell of horses.

I was out walking the dog today and there was a horse stood by the gate of a field. I walked up and patted its head. It was breathing through its nostrils and crunching on a mouthful of grass, and the smell coming of it was wonderful - not just its breath, but its very being; skin, hair, mane... It was weird because when I got the whiff I knew instantly that it was a smell I've always loved, and yet if I'd been asked to list my favourite smells before this encounter, I very much doubt horses would have been on there.

Like most smells it's very hard to describe, but anyone who's ever been in close contact with these animals will know exactly what I mean.

 

Volunteered at a cat shelter for the first time. They allow casual drop-ins and I've been looking for one that didn't require regular hours. I was so nervous approaching the shelter that I walked once around the block before getting up my nerve to enter. I'm quite timid socializing alone, so I'm proud I took that initial step.

Also, one of the cats apparently liked me enough to groom me.

 

I'm really happy today

Basically, at the start of the year I was approached by the Head of English at my school and she said that due to my marks last year (I got the highest mark you can get in all of my English papers) she thought I should do a scholarship paper (which is a big deal for me as they are normally for year 13s (seniors) and I am year 12, because of this there were only 4 other students in year 12 doing it at my school) and I ended up accepting. However after a month of non-stop stress with practice school exams (which I got really bad marks in) and my depression growing worse, I was really starting to question why I decided to do the scholarship as well, I felt there was no way I could ever achieve it. But I talked to my English teacher from last year today and she helped me so much. She told me she believed I was capable of achieving it because I thought differently and that made me special. She encouraged me and told me I was on the right track. It was simple but it made me really happy and my confidence grew soo much, because sometimes you just need someone who isn't your family or your friends to tell you you can do something. I now can't wait to try the exam

 

Nothing like a teacher who is also special, eh? One who truly cares about her students and takes the time to recognise their talents and encourage them. You won't forget her in a hurry. Good luck to you!