The Happiness Thread

There's an SF short story called Bears Discover Fire by Terry Bisson that's available free and legal. Quick google, I'm not going to link as I got in trouble for that once before when it turned out to be not so legal as I'd thought.

 

I got to spend the entire weekend with my family. My brother and I had a really solid conversation about so many things, my sister got to be absolutely adored by our niece (they're best friends. It is precious). My dad got to hear her say, "Hi, Papi!" And then she gave him a big squeeze (her way of hugging). My mom gave her a piano keyboard she can play with by walking on it and she spent about twenty minutes with me this evening playing. It makes animal sounds, too, so she'd point to one with her entire hand and say, "Ca! Gotta ga ga ga ga get the seepie." Or "Ca! Gotta ga ga ga getta onfon!" (Her way of saying elephant)

She is my favorite person.

 

Ate shit coming down the stairs in my buddy's basement last night. Can't count steps apparently; forgot there was one more. Full force, full-speed, fell to the floor with a pie in my hand.

Saved the pie except one corner that got smushed. My right elbow and kneecap took 99% of the impact. I couldn't have been more lucky than to have had the two toughest, numbest, smallest points of my body take the entire wipeout for me.

It took me a moment to get up though, since I was so surprised and it still hurt like a you-know-what. Shook myself off, and for at least an hour was constantly checking to make sure I could move fine, etc.

Now all I can think about is that I'd literally be dead on the floor if I were 72 instead of 22. Well, unless I had Life Alert maybe. So I am happy that's not the case, and thus it goes in this thread.

Also happy that I didn't take the full force of the fall with my head and/or neck. It would be my luck, to die like that. Knock on wood.

Speaking of wood: also happy the floor was bamboo. But to suggest that that makes for a "soft wood floor" and therefore a "soft landing" would be a joke. Trust me, I'd know.

 

My favourite part is at approx. 0:35 when the wolf pup gives up and leaves, and the Border Collie runs after him with the toy.

 

Took this picture of the Maquoketa River near my home of Cascade, Iowa this morning.

EDIT: File too large. I'll try again in the morning. Have a good Tuesday. Night, everyone.

 

Here is the pic. I like winter less every year, but this was a very pretty scene.

 

Spoiler: puppy update!

the older he gets, the more his characteristics are changing from a typical lab. the fur on the back of his neck is starting to turn a deep redish brown and has become wavy. his ears are starting to stand up, and his tail stands up like a cat and slightly curls over his back.

i am SO curious as to what he really is mixed with. but he's such a sweety!

 

Spoiler: Pepper

Pepper003 by Darkmatters, on Flickr

^^ That reminds me so much of the first pic I took of Pepper when I got her way back in... wow, it was 2006!!

 

"Went to" a Zoom stand-up comedy show by a comedian who is well known for, well, heckling his audience.

Guess who ended up as his designated whipping boy today?

That was fun!

 

Who was it and what sort of stuff were you mocked for?

 

Judah Friedlander, and my vague responses as to my location, my height (that was one of his setups) and just generally being the go-to person when he heckled other audience members: "Wow, that's a pretty weak answer there Bob. Not as weak as Iain's, of course..."

I've been to several of his online shows, but this was the first time I set up my camera. Was hoping to be included, didn't expect to be the main event. But I knew it could be coming so it was a lot of fun.

 

my parents, brother, and sister are coming to visit me next week!
this will be the first time the 5 of us are spending time together in a looooooooong time.
Ironically... i have this whole Trump thing to thank for that. My brother cant go to work because his job is near the Capitol and they've barricaded the roads and shut down public transit to and from that area, so he and my parents decided to get out of the area and take a trip to see me.

We are planning on taking a family photo. We havent done a family photo since I was a kid

 

They appear smarter than the average bear.

 

Today was, and continues to be, a good day. I got my new PC set up, and everything is working fine. Haven't actually played anything yet, but by rights it should beat the absolute brakes off any game I feed it. I also upgraded my internet speed at no extra cost.

 

Central Texas got a proper snow day last Sunday and it was MAGICAL. Brought me back to my childhood in Maryland and I loved seeing my kids get to play in a proper snowfall for the first time. We got over 4 inches, which is nearly unheard of here! I loved every minute of it. It snowed all day, from about 8 am-6pm. I will treasure those memories for a long time.

 

First day I arrived at a certain Air Force base in Texas lo these long years ago there was a fracking ice storm. Imagine hiking all over an unfamiliar base to check in in your Class As and corfam low-quarters on black ice the whole time.

 

IT'S SNOWING!!!!

It comes and goes, but I hope it covers everything. We are at 3 C, so I'm hoping the temperature falls just a little bit more. Yesterday we had -2 C but it didn't snow. Come on weather! You can do it!

 

Well, this year is off to a good start! After much deliberation I decided to start school again. While I have been on the fence about paying for a degree, I've been doing a lot of work and I already started, so I figured why not finish it? Why not get the social credit for what I've been doing. So I start today to finish my bachelor's in English. I don't qualify for financial aid right now due to loans I never paid, but oddly enough I'm poised to make enough to pay out of pocket. I have decided to officially branch out and launch my editing and book coaching business.

Without doing any self promoting, I just want to say how grateful I am to have to have booked my first 3 high-ticket clients and they are rocking it. We are on track to publish in Summer, and I'm set to start taking more. I also want to say how grateful I am to have come through WF. This place really changed my trajectory as a writer, reader, and editor. I always thought I'd write a book. Last year I did that. Making a career out of editing and teaching people who to develop, write, and publish their books was never something I saw coming.

My 27th bday is in a few days days, and I can say, after a tumultuous 3 years, I might be set to make the next 3 my best yet.

 

Got my $600 from Uncle Sugar today. All politics aside, I now have six hundred bucks more than I did yesterday, which is a good feeling.

 

Twenty years.