News: The Happy

This is late, but the timing fits. I need the prompting to focus on this, because I'm a bit of a downer when left to my own devices. Other people seem so much more interesting that I enjoy myself the most talking about their lives. Nevertheless, there are:

Things That Make Me Happy

See how damned happy I can get?

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The List:

1. My Family: You Get What You Get

I'm getting along with some of my family. For now. That means a few visits here and there, and a few relatives I wouldn't see for decades otherwise. There has been more crap slung at me, and there will be even more betrayal and fallout, but I can pretend for a while that things are working. My son likes having someone else to visit, and I am thankful that he likes meeting people in general. He's mostly awesome when he's out, and he knows enough to be grounded about it all. 

I will accept positive feedback, even from them, even though I know it's all double-edged. I am trying to keep in mind that these people can't help themselves--not in order to forgive them all, but to avoid taking their shit personally and to take the responsibility to step out of the way of it. 

In other words, to treat them all like they are creatures of instinct without a fore-brain. It's sad, but at least there are already a couple off the list who I don't have to deal with at all.

I think this is pretty normal. Ditching my high expectations seems to be a repeated and unusually difficult process for me. My bad.

What has made this a bit worth it is reconnecting with my uncle who lives in Guatemala. Although he's as crusty as they come, I see that I've inherited a lot of his stubbornness and drive to hold on to his principles. I hope I have also gotten a fraction of his ability to laugh at himself for it, and to tell a damned fine story about his antics, and those of his acquaintances. 

I know two truly hilarious storytellers, and I should give credit to the other, who I have called Ed in a couple of stories. Both of them manly men who make light of their lives. I have to hand it to them.

  

2. NaNoWriMo: The November Challenge

It's gearing up, and I'm getting excited about it. More than I had expected. There are a group of my friends who get together to write a 50,000 word rough novel every year during the month of November, and I love doing it. Sometimes I forget how much. What an idiot.

There's a good chance I'll have enough spare time to just get it done, while job-hunting. Keep your fingers crossed--it will be the tightest November ever.

 

3. Diet & Health: The Reckoning

Last, but certainly not least: there's a strong chance that I've lost my secret weapon. Remember when I said that my cholesterol might not matter so much if I didn't have the high blood pressure? And that the high blood pressure might, if I were really lucky, be attributable entirely to the ibuprofen?

Bingo. Repeated testing last week showed a 35 point drop in Systolic, and enough in Diastolic.
Perfectly normal--in fact ideal.

Thanks mom for being a hypochondriac with a convenient blood-pressure machine. Because at the start of this I was getting swatted with canes by florid seniors for hogging the one at the pharmacy.

And thanks, Pish, for putting this task into the mix. I might have held over the Thanksgiving spirit a bit long, but I am feeling grateful for quite a bit right now, and it's important to me to hold the feeling.
 
Post-script: I forgot to add:
 

4. Nice Things in The World

A person I only know over the Internet, who amuses me endlessly, has just had a child a little early, and I get pretty verklempt about stuff like that. Next up: my cousin, who is also due any day.