| Jan. 17th, 2009 @ 12:23 pm 5 happy things |
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Current Mood:  sick Current Music: "One Sweet Love," Sara Bareilles
I'm fighting off the remnants of a cold that laid me low on Thursday ... but, all things considered, my weekend is off to a good start.
1. Work: All things considered, work is going pretty well. I was out sick on Thursday, but I took the opportunity to work from home for a few hours and get some (easy but time-consuming) tasks done while I didn't have the distractions of the office. I was still only half-functional on Friday, but the office was closed for admissions, so I had more low-distraction work time. Plus, everyone being in the office together, with our doors closed to the outside, generates a stronger sense of camaraderie.
My work stress is just declining in general, though, and that's fantastic. Admittedly, a good chunk of that is because the high-stress period of the year (for my position) is winding down. However, I do think I'm doing a decent job of sticking to my resolutions and keeping my work stress in perspective.
2. Old friends: Last night after work I met some old friends from school (the group I went to the NWSA conference with) for the first time in several months. One of our friends hosted, and we put together a potluck dinner that turned out amazingly delicious (port, bread and cheese, couscous, samosas ...). Spending time with these friends is always such a positive, energizing experience, because they're funny, whip-smart, and passionate about justice.
I notice that this is something I really need to have in my life, even if it's just every couple of months. My closest friends are geek-types, and that's what I love on a day-to-day basis ... but at the same time, the things that get us really fired up (and "angry," if you want to say that, but not in a negative way) don't always overlap. And being fired up in a social context that doesn't match - that can turn into just feeling angry-in-a-negative-way. So being able to plop myself into a group of people who say "yes, we're angry about what you're angry about, and let's use that to generate ways to resist and rebuild" is valuable.
3. Kittens: The friend who hosted dinner last night has 4-month old kittens. XD They are absolutely adorable, little gray tabby boys whose stripes are more like splotches and make them look wild (they were, in fact, found abandoned in the woods). There was a little short-haired boy with a near-prehensile tail who sat in my lap after I stole his sleeping spot (a.k.a. sat in the chair he was on), and a fluffy long-haired boy with a face like a (tiny) bobcat. Like all kittens, they felt like they could fit in a single handful. Eeeeee~
4. Cuddles: I am lucky to live with two very cuddly boys who will give me snuggles after a long day at work. ♥ Kershach in particular is an excellent source of healing, when he is curled up into a kitty "C" and lets me just lay my head on his cushy fur and listen to him breathing (asleep) or purring (awake). He is also highly skilled in the art of the sleeping-in-on-a-weekend good-morning cuddle.
![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ratzeo is not a snorgleable fluffball, but he does a good job nonetheless. ;)
5. Tea: I continue to be addicted to Adagio tea, and decided to try their rooibos tea, even though my last experience with loose leaf rooibos from another tea company went poorly (the scent was so cloying it made me nauseous). Whether Adagio's rooibos is better, or my tastes have changed, or both, I am now smitten with their Rooibos Almond.
Although I guess this is both good and bad, because it makes me want to make another tea order ... even though I've made two large orders within the past month. *headdesk*
Boring tea babble: I've found myself gravitating toward flavored tea recently. Partly that's because I'm branching out as a tea nerdconnoisseur and just trying new things. But also, the flavored tea I've had the most experience with are the kinds you can find easily - which translates to bagged black teas from grocery stores. Flavored black teas tends to have a muted taste, I think, because black tea is so strong - or, conversely, the flavoring is overpowering and fake-tasting in order to compensate. On the other hand, herbal teas (which I've learned are called "tisanes" *The More You Know rainbow*) don't have to pit the flavoring against the strong taste of black tea, because they're just fruit pieces or flowers. I think that provides more of the actual flavor I'm looking for, and is a lot tastier - though of course YMMV.
*Last-minute #6: Junk email with a subject line of, "Your shlong can be shlonger." |
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mellow
relaxed
sleepy
stressed
shmoopy
calm
blank