Things That Have Made Me Happy Today

— Getting up this morning, staggering around in my bathrobe with the cat twining around my ankles like the furry offspring of a bowling ball and a trip wire, and being transfixed by the sight of a male house finch splashing around in the bird bath. I’ve no great affection for the non-native house finch, but his sheer exuberance, feathers splayed and throwing drops everywhere, was a delight to watch.

— Stepping out of the shower onto a brand-new fluffy bath mat. My feet get few pleasures in life, and this pleased them greatly.

— Visible bruising. Okay, this probably needs an explanation. You know how frustrating it is when you’ve got a bruise, but you’ve got nothing to show for it? It hurts, but there’s nothing there. It makes you feel wimpy. So there’s a weird masochistic gratification in having a sore spot start to turn that deep brown color that indicates that by god, you really DID do something to yourself, and you are fully justified in your self-pity. I have two matched marks across my forearms where I caught a bookcase wrong, and a truly spectacular bruise under my right knee from an encounter with the edge of the futon frame. It’s making a nice purple-brown triskelion that probably indicates that I am the heir to some Viking throne or other, at least for the next few days. The pain doesn’t particularly bother me, but by god, it’s nice to have something to show for it.

— My sink got fixed yesterday, so I can finally wash some dishes without flooding the kitchen. As I own only four plates at the moment, and the sink has been broken since I moved in, the joy here is not to be underestimated. Scrubbing the remnants of beef and broccoli off a plate in the bathroom sink is only fun the first few times.

— The knowledge that I have plans three evenings this week. As Deb once observed, as I scuttled out the door, “You know, for someone who complains about their lack of social life, you sure go out a lot.”

And the number one thing that made me happy today…

— Depositing the check for the second half of my book advance. Even though the lion’s share of it goes to pay next year’s taxes, even though the rest is going to my credit card and my frivolous expenditures are limited to buying a single cool mask for the collection–still. Warm capitalistic fuzziness all around.

Edit: Okay, scratch that. Capitalism was the number TWO thing that made me happy today. Number one was getting Ben into the cat carrier for his yearly physical in one smooth, painless, towel-wrapped motion. That NEVER happens. Crimony, maybe I should buy a lottery ticket…

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