The Happiness Thread

I had to Google it. It sounded like some kind of new fangle work out machine for the gluteus maximus.

 

LOL. It is a pain in the rump to deal with, but I'm close to a place that has the requisite equipment, and while it is chronic, it's treatable. Fifty years ago it would have been fatal. It is a battle, but I have a chance to fight, and so I do.

 

Keep fighting the good fight!

 

'I get knocked down, but I get up again. You ain't never gonna keep me down!' - Chumbawamba, Tubthumping

 

Just popping in for a quick lookie-loo around the forum. Hope you guys have behaved yourselves.

I'm currently in London, savagely separated from @T.Trian for 2 whole weeks, stuck in a big hotel, and pretty much deprived of daylight for at least until Friday 'cause I'm working from eight to six, but hey, at least I'm meeting new people and learning a few more things about teaching, so, yay, happy!

 

This morning we got a big internet upgrade here at our house. Very much faster! Woohoo!

 

Occasionally I win one. Just discovered my favourite band, The Punch Brothers, are doing a gig at Celtic Connections in Glasgow in January. !!!! I went online and bought one of the prime tickets tonight. So excited. Already hoping 2015 will be better than 2014 has been. That's a great way to start!

 

A photo I shot and submitted Friday to my local TV news was used yesterday in their morning program. It's an early morning photo of lakeside fall foliage lit by the first rays of sunlight and reflected in the still water.

 

Did you get paid for this, by any chance? I didn't know you were a photographer as well as a writer. Congratulations. With or without pay, it must be great to see your photo up there.

 

It's a little frivolous, but I just noticed I got a hundred likes...

 

I like that

 

I'm giving a random shout-out to my three best friends! You guys are the best!

 

Unpaid, but I do feel good about it.

I did some semi-pro photography a few decades ago, as a sideline, including some photo shoots for ads for some equipment my company had developed. But it stopped being fun, so I dropped back to being a hobbyist.

 

Going apple picking tomorrow. *knocks on wood*

 

Is that code word for clubbing and looking for a man?

 

Haha. No, it's literal. Also, I'm pretty shy when it comes to pursuing relationships. I date with the long term in mind and don't like clubbing.

 

Surrrre it's always the shy ones you have to worry about.

 

Yay! Back in the land of internet connectivity after a week and a half of being offline due to my ex lodger's vindictiveness. (He took care of the 'net bill and could have asked to keep the fibre optics live until his final month's subscription came to an end but instead choose to mightily inconvenience me by having it turned off. I couldn't get a replacement hub until his contract was over despite it residing in my home not his. Some legal bull crap or other...grr!)

Still, it's been worth every moment of frustration at not having the glut of information at my fingertips to have him gone. I'm sitting in what used to be his room, coffee in hand, watching the sun come up as I type this.

Oh, yes. Worth every single minute of frustration.

*Deep contented sigh of relief*

 

Yeah. You hear people say things like: "Oh, I'm so fortunate I get to do what I love and get paid for it." Maybe it feels like that at first, but if you start to depend on your hobby for an income, I reckon it can become a chore rather than a pleasure, and you can lose the love that inspired you to take it on in the first place. This doesn't happen to everybody, of course, but I reckon it happens to some.

In general, that's why I'm not seeking 'traditional' publishing for my novel, or subsequent books. If I was one of the exalted few who got lucky, who got an agent who then sold my book to a publisher, then I would then be under pressure to keep producing. And that would take the fun out of it for me.

I'm old enough to have limited time left to write novels, and secure enough with a small, but adequate pension. I don't need the money, so I'm going to do what I want with the years I have left. I'll make my book available online for people who want to read it, once I've edited it to a high standard. That's good enough for me.

Would you consider uploading your photo onto the photo thread, so we could see it? It sounds from your description like a calming, autumn scene. I'd love to see it.

 

Congratulations @Cogito.

I echo both yours and @jannert's sentiments. I'm extremely wary of trying to generate income by doing the things I love for fear of spoiling them.

I was fortunate to spend over a decade tattooing, something I initially loved, but there came a point when I realised that mixing the things that bring me pleasure, and earning an income from the same takes the gloss off the experience. I didn't like working to the time constraints of the tattooees' budgets and pain tolerance, and as a consequence retired at the age of 35, somewhat disillusioned. The very best of my tattoos were generally done on friends, gratis. Coincidence? I think not.

Some people work more creatively with added pressure and constraints. I'm definitely not one of them.

 

Good news everybody! I fixed my computer by flashing the BIOS. I just wish I would have done that before I formatted my hard drive. Now I have a lot of programs to re-install.

 

Today I'm happy because I have a full week ahead. I'll be doing volunteer work everyday this coming week.

 

Finally! Finally! I have gotten all of my bits of whimsical ridiculousness put into a single document. I no longer have to reference hither and yon to find them. . It is truly a splendid piece of work, one that wouldn't even be if it weren't for this forum.

 

Now I'm happy because I got a blood test this morning, which means I won't have to get another one for a while.

Needles give me the willies.

 

I hope you didn't lose a lot of sleep cramming for the test.

One thing I've learned is that the less you tense up, the easier and less painful the needle encounter. Also, drink lots of water to make the veins easier to tap.