The Happiness Thread

Congrats.

 

"You could give a loan to your good friend Zoidberg maybe?"

 

After roughly 18 months(we talked via Skype in the meantime, but that’s not the same), I’ve finally met my former colleagues (aka friends) again today. We had a great time, and I went home with the feeling that maybe (just maybe, cause I don’t want to jinx it) good things are about to happen more often again.

 

I don't understand people who don't like Neapolitan ice cream - the three best flavors in one sitting.

 

In my cannabis days, I always thought the perfect munchie was a banana split -- three flavors of ice cream and lots of goo, plus fruit to make it healthy.

 

There can be only one!

 

I always feel a little sad when someone talks about his 'cannabis days'. Dude, it's still there, and even legal in a lot of places now. I'm sure that in ten years, we'll be able to buy it at convenience stores and Walmart.

 

Cannabis is still there, and stronger than ever, but I've moved on. I'm sometimes a bit sad that the past sometimes looms so large for me, but I don't miss getting high.

 

Me, either. Good old cannabis became a big old problem for me. I prefer my twenty-five years of clean time to any further indulgence.

 

My rejections list sometimes reads like a catalogue of my own stupidity. Three recent ones:
You forgot to attach the file.
We're the non-fiction editors.
We refer you to our submission guidelines and the strict wordcount requirements.
Doh!
Anyways, the first of those three accepted my story (when I managed to post it) and just gave me my first publication credit, ever, in online magazine, issue 6 of The Klecksograph.
Happiness indeed.

 

Nebraska vs. Illinois. No masks on the sideline, nor in the stands. One small step toward sanity.

 

I do this thing when I fold laundry where I flip my hamper over onto my bed to dump out the clothes. Today I got a little enthusiastic and ended up knocking the wind out of myself. As I leaned on the wall trying to catch my breath again, I thought about how if I died no one would know the absurdity that led to it, and that made me laugh, so I stood there making these weird almost quacking sounds because I was panicking and laughing at the same time.

Maybe not a happy happy thing, but it's still making me laugh--albeit with a hint of trepidation.

 

Please leave my Huskers out of your little war of independence. They're having enough trouble as it is.

 

They didn't look that bad. It's hard to come back against a team like Illinois.

 

They used to eat teams like Illinois for breakfast. More than 50 years of consecutive home sellouts will likely come to a sad end next week.

 

*Grabs popcorn*
On another note, I just accepted a job!

 

I suppose that's more important. What sort of job?

 

Paralegal job. That helps people and it makes me happy, because I am excited about the job. Not just the money. I have tried the 'it has a great salary' thing, but I was miserable!

 

I wish you happiness in your new field, Gravy. Your writing and research skills will be invaluable. I worked as a civil litigation CLA/CP for almost twelve years. It was interesting work. I'm glad I did it, though I don't regret retiring and going on to something else that pays less financially but suits me better. However, after 7 years at my present job, I am beginning to feel the old twinges of "My time here is done; what's next?"

 

Thank you so much! I really love all the research and writing. I am flattered by your words.

And wow, that's a long time, but do you mind my asking where you got your CLA/CP? NALA or NFPA? And what's calling you job-wise right now?

 

NALA. I held it from 2000 to 2015 , then let it expire. I also have a LA certificate from a local college.

Nothing is really calling me right now. I'm just feeling antsy.

 

That's so cool. I just graduated as a trained paralegal and I am still not sure which I want to join. Did you like NALA?

I understand. I know you will find somerthing you love soon enough. It takes time. (Took me far too long.)

 

I had fun at the office Christmas party today. Yes, you read that right—since everyone is too busy to get together in December, my boss decided to do it in August this year. That's thinking outside the calendar box. We had a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant, then games in the park next door. I kicked everyone's ass at croquet. Boom! Merry Christmas!

 

I have no strong feelings about NALA one way or the other. My instructor was one of the founders, so the program I attended was geared toward NALA. I didn't like that NALA refused to release the numerical results of the CLA exams, issuing pass/fail only because they wanted all CLAs to start their careers with equal standing. I was one of the 48% of exam takers who passed all areas on the first try, and am willing to bet my scores were excellent. To this day I see no reason why folks shouldn't profit professionally from high scores on the exam. This may have changed; I hope so.

Are you going to do civil or criminal litigation or something different?