The Happiness Thread

I watched a movie where at some point someone noted the importance of stories/novels in our life, and I was cheering "yes! yes and more YES!" I got so excited . . . it was such a rewarding feeling to feel and know that is so true, it made me fall in love with writing all over again

 

My hot tub is finally coming on Thursday!

I've been waiting for like seven months for this since I purchased it, but finally after complaining like eight times and starting the process of cancelling the order because of the company's lack of communucation, it's coming. Hallelujah. I can't wait.

Party at my house all year long now?

 

don't you live in Southern California?

 

That is correct.

 

Homer, you're in charge of the food. I 'll bring a case of good Scotch. Friedrich, doughnuts.

 

That's the main reason I bought an extra solar panel than my house electric usage needs. It has a whole panel to itself.

Good stuff. Now I just need to build the bar and stationary grill out there. Trampoline is naturally in place already for the drunken shenanigans. And of course the yard games are in place like cornhole, can jam, horseshoes, and others. Just did the front landscaping too with a firepit.

It's a five person one with all the fun extras. Can't wait.

 

Pffft! Pandemic! Yeah, like that's ever gonna—

 

Also, I should let you know, by "Good Scotch" I mean J&B Rare. Hey, a fifth costs a few dollars more than the sourmash gruel I usually get!! And we're cool if you just bring some chicken buckets or pizza. It's a freakin' party man, after the first few shots nobody'll be able to taste anything anyway, nor will they care how healthy any of it is!

 

I fear the heartbreak may be too recent for that.

 

Picking myself out of this god forsaken hibernation:

Woke up at 11, after only 3 hours of sleep. Went to the solidarity assembly. Was nice and peaceful. Just a cocaine fiend tried to smash a post office window with a rock, but people got to him before he created chaos. Nobody got hurt, at least none to my knowledge. Got back. Had coffee and played two games of chess with a friend. Lost both games due to stupidity (I was so close at winning, but fucked up my last moves... again). Nevermind though. This friend of mine is really good at chess. I've only beaten him twice and we've played plenty a games. Ate. Played some guitar, Whiskey in a Jar as my friend tried to sing along. Well, you can't be good at everything, but we rocked the shit out of the song nonetheless. Went for a ride with my new, smoken bike. Oh yes, I've got a bike now. This friend of mine who's good at chess gave it a wreck to me and I've paid just a 100 euros to fix it anew. Cycled for half an hour and now I'm a complete wreck meself and nobody can fix me for a 100 euros, but nevermind, it was so much fun I'll do it again tomorrow... if I can stand... A thing about living in a mountainous area is that cycling can be challenging. When I made it back I felt like throwing my heart out. That's how tired I got, but man: Endorphin rush. I've forgotten just how good it feels. Gimmie pain for the pain!!!

Thing is, I feel like I've awoken finally. Like I've gotten rid of that heavy veil that numbed my senses and blurred everything.

Tomorrow is a free moving day, 'cause... Clean Monday. It's a religious customary day where the fasting begins. I don't fast in general (I don't eat meat daily anyways) but on this day we eat other goodies like seafood and vegan stuff. I could say it's a pescatarian day? Anyhow, another custom about this day is that we go out and fly kites and that's why moving around in a bigger radius is permitted. Imma go to my friend's place, one who lives further away and that's why we've been having trouble getting together since the lockdown and finally jam! He's a bassist.

... and drink 'til we drop.

Edit: Scrap the "free moving day". Was wrong but I haven't given up the thought of going to my friend yet.

 

Interesting definition of "funny," methinks.

 

1. I am now 12,099 words deep into my WIP. My goal had been to reach 11,000 by today, so I exceeded that despite having way less time to write than I was planning on. This is also, finally, more words in the actual draft than in my outlines, notes, and other planning documents (of which I have no precise count, but probably amount to ~10k words).

2. I did not meet my goal of finishing the first (of three planned) POV character arcs for this novel by today. But this is probably actually a good thing as well, since clearly 12k words is not one-third of a novel. I have plenty of notes of where I need to expand things so I think it won't be too hard to flesh it out, but it's good to know I can still get some more mileage out of the hang-some-sentences-on-the-outline approach I've been using thus far.

 

The snowdrops and the crocuses are in bloom and the breezes are warm. It is a time to be throwing open windows and quoting Swinburne.

For winter’s rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remember’d is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

 

I went for a ride with my kids yesterday, son daughter and son in-law. 42 miles or so. While riding up one of the many hills with daughter as the guys race up, my daughter commented how lucky we are as a family. We enjoy the same things, enjoy each others company, we have the money and the time to be able to do it.<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/4980683350/embed/b43281365dc5ed20fa42672f094c4a5f019529ad'></iframe>

 

Is that all?

 

Got my first Covid dosage!!

 

Very nice! I think the long lazy days of summer inspire my poetry more than any other season.

 

Man, I don't remember what having a long lazy day feels like. I'm happy with an extra hour that opens up randomly on a Wednesday.

 

Finished all my work today already. I've only got half the drum line to write for my song and then I'm fully done with it in time for recording demos. Stayed up last night till 1:37am and felt bad about it, but then came up with a whole damn song in 3 minutes, and I know how I'm going to record it and where it's going to be on the album and everything. Amazing.

 

Yeah, not lazy in the sense I get to laze, but the summer days themselves are lazy.

 

I'm looking forward to it. Summer is the best season around here.