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What's a small thing that made you happy?
I'll start with mine- having a clean desk. It's kinda amazing how that can change how productive you are.
I'll start with mine- having a clean desk. It's kinda amazing how that can change how productive you are.
This is a small part of a bigger project, but I'll stick to the small victory for this post.
So recently I got incredibly fed up with how dirty my neighborhood is in <major US city>. There's trash fucking everywhere, including on the train tracks which can cause track fires, damaging the trains and also causing delays because, ya know, there's fire on the tracks. So I started carrying a biodegradable trash bag and pair of gardening gloves with me when I leave the apartment and just pick up some trash while I walk to my destination. If I have 5 minutes before the train comes, I pick up some trash from the tracks (NOTE: I only do this on the portions of the tracks that are street-level, not subways. DO NOT CLIMB DOWN ONTO SUBWAY TRACKS FOR ANY REASON.). When I get home I quickly sort my daily catch into recyclables and trash and throw them in the appropriate bins for my apartment. It takes all of 10 minutes including the time it adds to my walk and nearly no actual effort. That said, over the last few weeks things have been noticeably cleaner, at least IMO. The thing that made me smile was the other day I saw someone else out with some gloves and a bag doing the same thing on their way to work. Made me smile to think that maybe this will start to catch on and we can make the neighborhood/city cleaner and look less shitty.
This reminds me of David Sedaris' trash pickup in England where he lives. He wrote various short stories about it. Good on you.
Dude, this is awesome. It's nice to hear someone doing something, like when people were using the trashtag. Kudos, yo!
Making my wife let out what I would call a next-level laugh. She has a sorta casual laugh for most everyday humor, but occasionally it goes up a notch when something really tickles her. I love when I'm the cause of that laugh. We had a couple friends over last Saturday, and I can't remember exactly what I said, but a few comments of mine got that laugh out of her.
Just reading this and thinking about the same thing in my life has me beaming, thank you for sharing this thought.
Growing my first ever full beard last winter (29 years old). I was either plagued with spotty growth, the devil itch, or my dry ass skin burning my face off.
Sitting on my front porch in the early morning with a hot cup of coffee. I try to sit there in silence, but sometimes I'll browse on my phone or read a book. It has been a really great way to start my day. Unfortunately, it's starting to get too cold to sit out on my porch in the mornings.
Just gotta get the parka, toque, and knit gloves, and you'll be good.
I have always had a special fascination for the little things in life. Most of them are focused on the people that are a tiny part of your life. For example, making small talk with the barista at my favorite coffee shop. There is no expectation for a deeper or more complicated relationship; it just is what it is. So, my little joys are the day to day relationships that just put a smile on my face.
Just moved to Germany having studied German on Duolingo for six months. Being able to actually navigate simple conversations in shops, pubs etc, makes me feel like I’ve got a new superpower.
Oooh I'm going to be in the same boat in a few months. Have you practiced daily? For how long? Before you moved or after? Any other languages that you speak? I'm trying to gauge how much time and effort I need but 6 months is what I was thinking.
I lived in Switzerland for a few years a while back, but as a totally ignorant ex-pat. So when I thought a move to Germany was on the cards I paid for Memrise and Duolingo and just followed their “fast” learning paces. Duolingo is good for just plodding stubbornly through (still not finished!) while Memrise has good “real speakers” videos, but runs out of good content quite quickly in comparison.
What really helped on top of that was the ARD iOS/AppleTV app that gives you a whole wodge of German language TV, mostly with subtitles available. So many romance films and crime dramas!
But as everyone tells you, it’s speaking it live that counts. I’m still weak at picking up what people are saying and have to work out my key sentences in advance, but it all feels like it’s just within my reach now. I’m probably B1/B2 now, so nowhere near “Wirtschaft” or ”fliessende“ yet but ich drücke meine Daumen!
I found German really hard compared to French, Italian etc (which I speak at tourist level), but it’s really starting to come together after 6-7 months (except adjective endings of course, I feel I will never master them).
Good luck for your learning!
Eating at the train station, sitting on the stairs, listening to the rain and the trains passing by.
Watching TV on the couch with my girlfriend next to me and my pup curled up on my lap. I don't consider myself super domestic but it's basically the best feeling.
Tiny thing - warmed blankets. There is nothing that dispels medical anxiety and induces relaxation when you're in pain like being cocooned in toasty cotton.
Spouse knew I was having a miserable day this past week, threw a Slanket in the dryer, and then hugged me into it - I've never felt so cared for. Warm blankets dropped my blood pressure 20 points before surgery. This is a simple comfort that's so accessible I can't imagine why I haven't been doing it all the time.
This was wonderful to read, and reminded me of a similar small joy in my own life: my dog loves laundry -- especially warm laundry.
When I bring a hamper of clothes from the dryer to fold them, I dump everything out on my bed in a big pile. My dog will immediately jump into the pile and immerse himself, plunging his body under the clothes and poking only his head out so he can keep an eye on me. His wagging tail will usually not be seen directly but instead by some pulsing pant legs or shirt sleeves at the back of the heap.
Normally I slowly pull away pieces of the pile to fold them and hang them up, starting with the outermost things and making my way in until I have to finally remove that very last pair of jeans he nestled himself under, but sometimes I just leave him and let him sit in his little cozy clothes fort. He loves it so very much, and it makes my day to see him happy in there -- every single time.
A female colleague from the Technical Writing Dept. at $COMPANY recently asked for my help in documenting a part of our system. I did my best to go over her notes and point out the places where her documentation and the real process differed. After I had finished, she thanked me and asked if I wanted some candy. I said “Yes!”, and she brought me a few bonbons with cherry. It was a small thing, but it made my day better.
I bought a trackball mouse and this is the first day I get to use it for work and I'm really enjoying it. Makes everything seem new and different, which translates to fun for me.
Unrelated... I feel like my trackball mouse made my carpal tunnel way worse. Granted I'm in a design field so it's a shit ton more intense usage than say, accounting or lawyering. Anyone have any experiences?
Well that's not good. I bought mine to help stave off carpal tunnel and other wrist-related pains. I'm a programmer so I figured it's just a matter of time before it happens.
Oh! Well yeah then I suggest you look into ergonomic vertical mice. Trackball mice are nice for light use like word processing but replacing every mouse move with a repetitive thumb motion is taxing over time. Plus trackball mice put your hand and arm in the position (flat to a horizontal surface) that causes CT at a desk.
I recently got a dog. I hate the word rescue because it sounds like I saved someone from Auschwitz, but whatever, it’s a stray dog, came literally from the street. He’s got some health issues we’re taking care of and it’s awesome seeing he improve little by little. Today he ate a whole plate of food and even asked for more. He wasn’t eating almost nothing before. It was pretty awesome.
Just seeing my girlfriend smiling makes me happy.
Changing the bedsheets and then getting into bed after a tiring day.
I was at my school's arboretum and saw American bushtits. They're these impossibly tiny little birds, around 4cm long break to tail, but there had to be around 20-30 in the tree above and next to me, and it was amazing to see them flitting about. I only saw half of them in the open tree above me, but a dense tree was lousy with them, and something spooked the rest back into the more dense tree.
Yesterday I got a skirt. Twirling around in it is so much fun! Being called my preferred name also really feels nice.