MetaHappy

November 10, 2017 10:58 AM

There is quite a bit of serious and depressing going on right now: U.S. politics, sexual abuse/assault/harassment in Hollywood, etc. I thought it might be good to have a place to just post happy things. Share something that's made you happy. A photo of a pet. Tell us about a good piece of cake that you just ate. Or maybe you went for a long walk and connected with nature. Whatever it is, just something happy, to remind ourselves that we'll be ok and we'll get through this, whatever that may be. Love to all of you.
posted by Fizz to MetaFilter-Related at 10:58 AM (216 comments total)

It's Friday and my cousins from India are visiting and I'm looking forward to hanging with them for the rest of the weekend and playing tourist. I'll be taking them to the Falls and maybe hitting up a breweries to sample some microbrews.
posted by Fizz at 11:02 AM on November 10, 2017 [14 favorites]

We got a cat a few months ago, he's a trip.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:09 AM on November 10, 2017 [20 favorites]

We're in Manchester for a weekend away celebrating my partner's birthday, and I'm a lil tipsy on berry-flavoured sparkling wine and gin. We've just moved into my Mum's while we get work done to our house which has been stressful - omg we have so much crap - and exciting - I'll have a dishwasher! All my dreams will come true! So life is good. Keep looking forward people, this too shall pass and we'll get through it together.
posted by billiebee at 11:10 AM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

I went to the mountains to visit some family that were there hunting elk. I had to drive through a blinding snowstorm, which was a blast - I love bad weather driving. When I got there, both my cousin and my nephew had shot their elk, so we were able to celebrate and hang out. My BIL brought me a fuckton of New Glarus beer and we had fried elk heart and a turkey dinner that couldn't be beat. The next day, after we took the elk to be processed, I talked all of them into going to some hot springs I knew of in the area. The weather was perfect - crisp and sunny and the springs were awesome and not at all crowded.

I don't get to see much of my family very often, so it was great to be able to hang out and float. It was really perfect.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:16 AM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

I just picked up the vegetables for my CSA farm share and my preschooler daughter can't stop cuddling the cabbage. My wife is certain there will come a day when she literally pets a crouton.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:18 AM on November 10, 2017 [56 favorites]

I actually did go on a very nice long walk yesterday with no internet and no other human beings. Pictures here and here. I would say I wish I was there again today, but it's 33 degrees and brutally windy so maybe not.

Also, the walk meant my camera came out again and I'm happy whenever I look at my pictures on Flickr... Just the simple act of making something you're really satisfied with is so nice.
posted by selfnoise at 11:27 AM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

my preschooler daughter can't stop cuddling the cabbage

Mine carries eggplant and butternut squash around the supermarket, calls them her babies, and will chide you for mistreating them while weighing at the checkout.

Also it was our wedding anniversary this week, and although I burned the shit out of my hand on a splatter of hot oil and set the smoke alarm off (twice), I made a really spectacular, if simple, meal, with which I was really pleased. I cook virtually every day, but it's rare that something just comes out perfect.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:33 AM on November 10, 2017 [21 favorites]

Boy #1 telling me how much he loves his new dragons love tacos shirt. And snuggling up with his cousin learning the ins and outs of Minecraft.
posted by not_the_water at 11:35 AM on November 10, 2017 [16 favorites]

I'm spending a night at my parents with my two-year-old son while my girlfriend is knuckling down on manuscript editing at home. This afternoon, shortly after we arrived, my mom asked us to help her with putting birdfeed in the birdhouse. My son carried the bag of birdfeed into the snow-covered garden and held a cup as I poured the feed into it. I then lifted him up so that he could pour the feed in the right place. Afterwards he was running around the garden in the snow saying repeatedly that he'd given the birds food. That was a very happy moment.
posted by Kattullus at 11:44 AM on November 10, 2017 [61 favorites]

Kattullus, that's one of the nicest images/stories I've heard in a long while. Bless.
posted by Fizz at 11:50 AM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Also, my new Nintendo Switch is giving me a lot of happy. It was an expensive toy that I gave to myself for my birthday which is next week and playing Mario and Stardew Valley have kept me smiling. I'm hiding inside of other worlds and while it's not a long term solution, it's working at the moment and it keeps me going.
posted by Fizz at 11:52 AM on November 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

It's a day off from work and I slept in! I haven't even had to leave my house yet!

(I need to, but I'm stalling.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:55 AM on November 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

This Twitter thread (of mainly UK people accidentally saying stupid things) gave me almost as much joy as MeFi's own @rhodri's annual Twitter Christmas holiday sleeping arrangements thread.
posted by ambrosen at 11:57 AM on November 10, 2017 [42 favorites]

Our public library is open on this cold raw day, but nobody seems to know we're open so it's mostly dead quiet. HOWEVER, I had one super-cute 18 month old and her harried parents show up at my family dance party! She got to hog all the cheerleader pom poms and egg shakers, and I got to dance to "I Want You Back" in the middle of my work day.
posted by Knicke at 12:01 PM on November 10, 2017 [17 favorites]

Yesterday I stacked half a cord of wood and I'm going to try to get out and stack another half this afternoon. It's good exercise, it's 47°F and overcast outside (and I can see snow on the mountains from my yard), and it has to be done because there's two cords sitting in a haphazard pile getting rained on, so it's nice that I'm enjoying doing it...so far.

Before I do that though, I'm getting some laundry done... now unlike certain people in the real men thread, I hate laundry (but not as much as I hate the dishes!) but I feel oddly motivated about it today. It might be because it's linens and I don't mind folding towels. It's precise and repetitive, which is nice and meditative.
posted by elsietheeel at 12:02 PM on November 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

This catchy, upbeat song is rocking my morning.

Here is the making-of video for the song itself. It taught me the phrase "kitten blanket" to describe a particular kind of musical sound.
posted by Flipping_Hades_Terwilliger at 12:02 PM on November 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

Also, the walk meant my camera came out again and I'm happy whenever I look at my pictures on Flickr... Just the simple act of making something you're really satisfied with is so nice.

This. The trio of a good rural walk, taking a nice picture and putting it on Flickr, and writing a few words about it in a comment here, are often deeply satisfying to mind and body.

One enjoyed a pleasant perambulation last Sunday, as day turned into night and various firework displays began. Part of the walk was by a canal, which involved crossing a bridge at dusk. On return I had a splendid cup of tea and a slice of Manor cake. I then received a booty call and returned several hours later with yet another jar of homemade jam.

Last Sunday was a good day.
posted by Wordshore at 12:02 PM on November 10, 2017 [19 favorites]

OKAY! Here are some things!

Toddler's new thing is lifting her shirt, puffing her tummy out into a big ol' gut, patting it, and exclaiming "PAPA!" My child is a comic genius! And at age 33, my body image issues aren't nearly as serious as they used to be, so that's something, yay!

I was on travel work this past weekend, and thanks to a timely tip from ChuraChura about a free scoop day, I randomly got to meet Ben of Ben & Jerry. He looks exactly how you'd think! Anyway, I was also able to meet up with ChuraChura and we got tacos and it was really lovely, and she gave me some books to take home to Toddler, which hey, P.S., she loves the new books! Thank you!

Also, it's Quonsmastime, or it's about to be, and I'm really excited for that. My lovely wife CatastropheWaitress will be joining in the Quonsening for the first time this year, yay!

RELATED to Quonsmas: I've started playing "Jingle Rock Bell" for unsuspecting audiences, and it's been great. Thank you, Metafilter.
posted by duffell at 12:04 PM on November 10, 2017 [16 favorites]

Dang. I wish I had a sexytime partner that also provided take home gifts of jam.
posted by elsietheeel at 12:04 PM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

I just got home five days ago from a great trip to Budapest and Berlin, where I discovered a bar that out-Brooklyn'ed Brooklyn, and where another Mefite and I got spontaneous Romanian folk dancing lessons. I'm also still giggling over the irony that the very best meal I had in Berlin was at an Israeli Jewish place 3 blocks from my hotel (and I'm very pleased that my Irish friend, who was traveling with me, is now addicted to Israeli cardamom coffee and malabi milk pudding as a result).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:05 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

Oh! Forgot the photo album.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:06 PM on November 10, 2017 [11 favorites]

I am also excited for Quonsmas!

I finally received my permanent Green Card approval yesterday, after 15 months of waiting. Next up is the naturalization application, and then I can finally cease giving the US gov't extortionate amounts of money.

Also, it's snowing and I am trying to be cheerful about it. (Trying.)
posted by cozenedindigo at 12:09 PM on November 10, 2017 [20 favorites]

I'm taking voluntary separation from my company and applying for adjunct computer science faculty jobs.
posted by tommasz at 12:10 PM on November 10, 2017 [13 favorites]

I have a day off with my 3 year old, and she's been very challenging this past week but today she has been delightful. Right now she's napping and I am taking a break from sewing. When she wakes up, perhaps we will bake something. This weekend we will make short rib tacos from the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook and I'm very excited, they look delicious. I'm pregnant and so far my main pregnancy craving has been tacos!
posted by john_snow at 12:14 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

It's Friday. My daughter has a play date set up for tomorrow. This weekend I'm going to finish painting the bathroom and maybe paint the one in the hall as well. I get to choose a shower curtain. I'm looking for little blue dancing octopuses or something benign and fun. Seahorses with umbrellas. It will be a fun thing to shop for. I think on Sunday we're going to a cute used bookstore/cafe and maybe I'll get some gardening books. Or maybe go up to Vermont. There are a couple of restaurants we go to that have nice views of the water.

I kind of like the anticipation of the weekend more than the weekend itself, when fully executed.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 12:16 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

EmpressCallipygos, those photos are great. Looks like a lovely time. :)
posted by Fizz at 12:18 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

My doggie got his coat clipped and now gets to rock his sweater.
posted by Rumple at 12:19 PM on November 10, 2017 [9 favorites]

I'm going out tonight to see a couple of very talented young local musicians at a venue that serves waffles for dinner.
posted by maurice at 12:19 PM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

Many months ago I asked about places to go chill with my dog and not talk to people. I finally went. The place was super cute, my dog got to run around off leash and freepoop wherever, and I only saw one other human, briefly, in four days. It was great.
posted by phunniemee at 12:20 PM on November 10, 2017 [11 favorites]

In early August, I rescued a kitten from under a car in front of my house. He has settled in nicely and enjoys playing fetch.
posted by mogget at 12:21 PM on November 10, 2017 [18 favorites]

I'm staying in here for the rest of the day. All the happy things. Please keep sharing. I'm smiling and laughing at all of these cool shares.
posted by Fizz at 12:26 PM on November 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

On Nov. 8, @CountVonCount ended a thirty-seven (ah ah ah!) day hiatus and resumed tweeting right where he left off.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:26 PM on November 10, 2017 [9 favorites]

I have successfully eaten lunch, which is an achievement. It's Friday and I don't have anything planned this weekend, which means I'm going to get to spend it hiking, cleaning, and getting my house in order. Maybe roommate hunting.

It is also doggy sweater season at chez sciatrix, because even in Texas it is now Too Cold for her princess self to tolerate. (I'm going to make a red Star Trek sweater for the doggo, I swear. I have the fleece, I just gotta make a pattern.)

This fluffy belly from Squishka exists in my life. So does unfairly-adorable Dent, and the thing where I've been bathing my head in bitter apple overnight is mitigating his one flaw, which is to obsessively groom my head through the night. And since it's getting cold, even normally-not-too-snuggly Peter is looking for cuddles.

My new med balance seems to be working, which == more focus, more things can get done. I might finally get that breathing problem diagnosed, which is scary but good. I might get to fix some of my sleep issues.

My partner is going back to school, and I'm so excited to see them doing things that don't bore them stupid that I could die.

I just remembered that Quonsmas is coming up, and I'm looking forward to getting to participate again after missing last year.

I don't have to go anywhere for any of the holidays or host anyone or any thing, so we get to sit around in PJs while my partner does weird mad scientist things in the kitchen. We did a turducken with our friends for Canadian Thanksgiving, so I think American Thanksgiving will be the free turkey my roomie gets from work and a ton of laziness.

THERE IS A CAT RIGHT THERE WHO PLAYS FETCH, OMG.
posted by sciatrix at 12:32 PM on November 10, 2017 [15 favorites]

The campaign I worked this season was a loser, but the group of us had a whole lot of fun working together. The past few days have been one big social love fest and multiple wine-soaked dinners. It's nice to have friends.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:34 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

I learned how to play The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin on guitar. Turns out the secret's mostly in the tuning (DGCGCD).
posted by Daily Alice at 12:36 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

There's always good beer.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:36 PM on November 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Cake stories? Happy to oblige. I just had something called a crepecake from Whole Cakes in San Francisco. It was 20 layers of crepes, with thin filling in between. This one was chocolate and espresso filling, but it seems they change it up daily. It was divine and about a 10 block walk from my work, so I think I will be going back.
posted by greermahoney at 12:37 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

Thanks for the thread, Fizz! A hummingbird just helped itself to some nectar from my fuchsia bush on the balcony, which is also a lovely sight. My grown kid is in school and just aced a sociology test. The class had a discussion about what makes someone a real X (nationality of the country they are in). One student said it required that your ancestors were X, and my kid responded, "then native peoples here are the only real X," and the other student was all, okay, okay, I guess you're right. And my kid, while telling me this story over FaceTime, was just so proud, and I was just so proud, too. In a few months I am moving many many miles to be with my kid and grandkids. I will miss hummingbirds but so happy I will get to spend lots more time with the coincidentally awesome human I helped raise. So yeah, I'm pretty happy today.
posted by Bella Donna at 12:38 PM on November 10, 2017 [12 favorites]

Last weekend I took my partner and son to our local Diwali celebration, ate some awesome Indian food, saw some dances from 13 Indian states, and generally had a good time.

This weekend we're going to check out Mission Conception and have a walk in one of San Antonio's excellent public parks.
posted by sotonohito at 12:40 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

More of a bittersweet "real life parenting thing" than a happy one per se, but my daughter spent the night at her boyfriend's apartment last night for the first time. We had a talk about difficult stuff and I spent the night not sleeping and worrying. Then today I helped her make her first apple pie, for him, which sounds kind of weird as I type it but she asked me so I did. It's in the oven right now; we decided on a lattice crust. I'm trying to be cool but ugh so many feelings. I don't know where I am on the spectrum of good dad to awful dad anymore, it's like I lost the manual or missed the week they taught this part. Anyway I love her and she's super smart. I'm really not handling the not-kids-anymore part well at all.

On a way-less complicated note, Fridays are "wild card" when we plan our week of meals. It often ends up being takeout sushi but it's always nice because I don't have to cook dinner. I will be drinking beer tonight.
posted by chococat at 12:41 PM on November 10, 2017 [30 favorites]

ambrosen, that Twitter thread is hilarious. I can only read a few at a time because I need to take a break from laughing.
posted by mogget at 12:45 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Ambrosen, many thank you!! I'm laughing myself silly over that Twitter thread.
posted by greermahoney at 12:53 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

We went to see Lizzo at the Fillmore last night. I always like going to see live music, but I was especially glad to be seeing Lizzo because she puts on an amazing show full of love and positivity. You should watch the video for Good as Hell and then imagine a couple thousand people standing in the dark all singing along and smiling and then once you know the words a little you should dance around and sing it at the top of your lungs!
posted by rtha at 12:58 PM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

> In early August, I rescued a kitten from under a car in front of my house. He has settled in nicely and enjoys playing fetch.

I also have a fetching cat! His name is Roswell but mostly he is called puppycat (he also follows me around from room to room).
posted by rtha at 1:04 PM on November 10, 2017 [12 favorites]

My calico fetches, too, when she feels like it. Although lately she has taken to just wandering around screeching at me, full-on terrible screeching, until I throw something for her, which is pretty obnoxious.

Also this morning there was mysterious cat poop scattered around the bathroom, and it turned out that she had swallowed my wife or daughter's hair and had a series of tiny poop balls dangling from her butt like tin cans on a honeymoon car.

Aforementioned preschooler really enjoyed relaying that story to mommy.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:11 PM on November 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm on my way home from visiting my mom at her board and care. Her memory is getting worse, she's asking me the same questions over and over, but she's always so happy to see me so none of that matters.

She shares a room with another woman, and today the TV was showing one of those real crime reenactment shows. At some point she says she doesn't like the show, and when I asked why she says, "Because they always blame the black people." And then, motioning with her arm as well for to clear a table she says, white people just put it all on them." She's never been political at all, but she is always on the right side of an issue.

A few months ago I brought her my stuffed tiger that my dad got me, probably 50 years ago. He's missing an eye, and is kind of beat up now. She didn't remember it, but took it anyway. At some point I walked a few feet away to talk to her caregiver, and I saw her rocking the tiger in her arms and she said to it, "What happened to you? You're missing your eye. That's okay, I love you just the way you are."

Just a reminder that there are good people in the world.
posted by Room 641-A at 1:18 PM on November 10, 2017 [54 favorites]

I love this thread. :)

1. Sunday was my birthday & I received my first Kindle.

2. A couple of nights ago I was looking for new guitar songs to learn & remembered John Hiatt's Thank God The Tiki Bar is Open & spun it up on YouTube. It was the first time since I got my guitar 2 years ago that I could actually keep up with a song I was playing for the first time and sound halfway decent. I guess practice pays off after all!

3. This gif is not new but it cracks me completely up everytime I remember it exists.
posted by yoga at 1:19 PM on November 10, 2017 [13 favorites]

this is my friend's magnificent and majestic cat, donovan goodboy

he is fancy and also large
posted by poffin boffin at 1:20 PM on November 10, 2017 [19 favorites]

Yesterday my kid ate something that she said made her mouth feel like dried-out slush & I knew just what she meant & then we were talking about the word slush & how it sounds like what it is, & I said do you know there’s a word for that, & she said, yeah, onomatopoieia! The fact that there’s a word for words sounding like the thing they are has always made me smile, and then the fact that it’s such a puffed-up floofy word and so hard to spell makes it even funnier. We were both saying it again & again and cracking each other up & then trying to spell it, & her versions kept looking better than mine, because she’s 7 and at the learning stage of: just get every sound in there. Anamatapeena ftw!
posted by miles per flower at 1:20 PM on November 10, 2017 [15 favorites]

I went to my folks' house to vote on Tuesday morning, and Triceratops (who is staying there until I am permanent somewhere) was very happy to see me. You can't see the happiness in this picture, just her epic cat-ness, but she spent the whole night drooling on me and purring and sticking her paws up my nose. I love her the most.
posted by ChuraChura at 1:22 PM on November 10, 2017 [16 favorites]

One of my best friends in the entire world -- we go back so far he's like family -- is coming to visit next weekend. There will be much drinking and gossip.
posted by JanetLand at 1:23 PM on November 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

My wife's parents and aunt are visiting us, it's just cool to have a couple of days off work and walk around Madrid enjoying the November sunshine with them.

I also managed to beat the Ticketmaster maze and snag tickets to see Flight of the Conchords in Dublin in March. In addition to seeing Jermaine and Brett do their stuff again, Mrs A. has never been to Dublin before so I'm looking forward to showing her the city and possibly meeting up with friends from the UK.
posted by arcticseal at 1:24 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

Sober for 18 months straight. Would not have believed that possible two years ago.
posted by SPrintF at 1:30 PM on November 10, 2017 [80 favorites]

Six new Steven Universe episodes premier today after the longest hiatus the show has had in a long while.
posted by explosion at 1:35 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

Wow, we need more happy threads. This is a tonic for my weary, bleary self.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:36 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

I just tried a fried chicken place I have been driving past for 9 months and it was amazing.
posted by nestor_makhno at 1:43 PM on November 10, 2017 [17 favorites]

Dang. I wish I had a sexytime partner that also provided take home gifts of jam.

Wish I had a sexytime partner period. But I have some awesome friends, so there's that. And I like my job and coworkers too. And I have my awesome MeFi buddies to boot! (And MeFi mail to make me feel better after my issues with certain threads.)
posted by Samizdata at 1:44 PM on November 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

nestor_makhno, new life slogan: life is too fast, slow down, pull over and try the fried chicken
posted by Fizz at 1:44 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

I just made a post about Professional Wrestling and even though I haven't watched Wrestling or WWE in more than 15 years. I love how into Wrestling other people are and that makes me smile and laugh, because it's such a fun and glorious thing.
posted by Fizz at 1:48 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

To myself as I'm reading the Twitter thread:

'These aren't all that f-' HAH! HA-HA-HA-HA- ... -HA-HA, HAH!!! 'OMG I can't breathe! Help!'
posted by jamjam at 1:48 PM on November 10, 2017 [12 favorites]

I've managed to lose 20 pounds in the last two months by logging what I eat and swimming three times a week. I'm easily fitting into a pair of 38 waist jeans that would have been impossible in August and my blood pressure is down too.
posted by octothorpe at 1:50 PM on November 10, 2017 [41 favorites]

At 33 weeks, I feel roughly the size of a small planet, but baby's growth is textbook perfect and the little booger is just the right size for enthusiastically pummeling my organs. It's uncomfortable, amazing, and deeply, deeply weird. By every metric, I am right on schedule for a truly epic Quonsmas present.
posted by Diagonalize at 1:50 PM on November 10, 2017 [18 favorites]

At this point, I think I'd rather have the jam.
posted by elsietheeel at 1:50 PM on November 10, 2017 [9 favorites]

I should be cranky because a coworker came to work sick this afternoon, but realized shortly after he emailed saying he'd be doing so that oh, wait, this gives me an excuse to go work from home MYSELF since I'm on prednisone right now, and this means I got to spend my afternoon in sweatpants with my kitten, so you know... win? The prednisone is for the bronchitis I've had for a few weeks which is finally properly clearing up. I got McDonald's on the way home and it's all pretty small stuff, but after being sick for basically a month at this point, it feels really good to be able to breathe, to be surrounded by my cats, and to have it not even be the weekend yet. I'm going to clean so much this weekend, and I'm at that point after an extended illness where that's actually really exciting.

(This is the kitten in question at 8 weeks old when she thought everything was terrible and she had to live in a bathroom. Now at 16 weeks she still thinks everything is terrible but she tells me so while trying to stand on my face while I'm working.)
posted by Sequence at 1:57 PM on November 10, 2017 [12 favorites]

I've been arranging/practicing a song on harp for my friends' wedding in a little over a month (aaughghgh). It's going really well, and I'm proud of myself for what I've accomplished with it so far.

The other day while I was practicing, I stumbled into an old video game song I'd learned probably 7-8 years ago. Since I started school again all my energy has gone into that, and I've barely played at all in that time. Finding my way back into the song by accident, and finding that I remembered a good 90% of it, was incredibly gratifying.

And then! Found my way into the Final Fantasy "Prelude" theme. It's been one of those "I really want to be able to play that song, I should learn!" songs and I just never sat down and focused. And it just kinda came out.

I've maintained for years that a lot of the early NES/SNES/Genesis music is essentially the folk music for a pretty big group of Gen Y (?? early millenials? whatever). There's a lot of us that didn't really get into pop music at an early age, but we were playing a lot of video games, and those programmatic, easily-loopable tunes are touchstones. I don't know your campfire songs. But if you start the Mario theme, probably a good dozen of us are going to jump in.

Anyway. Hit that FF tune and I physically felt like I was home. Like, yep, this is my place, inside this music. I've been away from physical-home for almost six months and it has been wearying. I'm a long way from what I'd call a musician, but it felt so good to be able to stumble across a phrase of that and then piece it together the rest of the way.
posted by curious nu at 1:58 PM on November 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

Tomorrow I'm going to play Dungeons & Dragons all day. Like, fourteen hours straight.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:58 PM on November 10, 2017 [13 favorites]

Also I made some ginger snaps and they are pretty dang delicious.
posted by curious nu at 1:58 PM on November 10, 2017 [11 favorites]

Tomorrow I'm going to play Dungeons & Dragons all day. Like, fourteen hours straight.

This is 100% the correct way to play Dungeons & Dragons.
posted by curious nu at 1:59 PM on November 10, 2017 [14 favorites]

Someone told me I can get gingerbread syrup in my Starbucks latte and if that's true, I will be so happy! That sounds like a holiday miracle. I shall report back.
posted by greermahoney at 2:01 PM on November 10, 2017 [9 favorites]

We moved to a new city this summer. At the time our 7-year-old boy was excited. Moving meant a a real backyard, his own bedroom, a new gaming console, a basketball rim in the driveway. He didn't understand that it also meant leaving behind his friends, so starting second grade was difficult. He's apparently doing fine at school, but when he's home and thinks about how far away his old buddies are it gets him really down.

We've been listening to him, encouraging him to identify and express his feelings, while at the same time helping him manage the feelings via things like comparing how much better he feels about life now than he did at the start of the school year. It helps that the school psychologist works with all classes in the school regularly. In my son's class they've been working on things like using your prefrontal cortext to "talk back" to your amygdala -- how awesome is that, for a second grader to know stuff like that? -- and that's provided a great framework/shared language for talking about feelings and physiological responses and whatnot.

Now, finally, he's settling in. He's had a half dozen playdates with several new friends. He's excited to play on the school basketball team. And his bouts of visibly pining for his old friends are becoming fewer and farther between. It's making me happy in a way that even the worst badness in the world can't touch.
posted by Lyme Drop at 2:10 PM on November 10, 2017 [13 favorites]

For the last few months I've been slowly making a new friend. Usually I'm Really Awful At Making New Friends for reasons, one of them some social anxiety, but also being a pretty hearty introvert means that I don't respond to social invitations like I could, and slowly people stop inviting me to hang out. When I met this person I felt instant bosom buddy-ness and didn't want to lose her in my life, and wanted to be a good friend for her, too, so this time around I was determined to have a more healthy approach to things. I was upfront about my social anxiety from the beginning - "If I act a little weird about X and Y, it's because I have this anxiety, and it has nothing to do with you" and "I have ADHD, so my time management can be terrible, FYI: thank you in advance for your patience" - and about my introversion meaning sometimes I just didn't want to do things. Of course I worried about it being TMI too soon, but she's pretty similar in a lot of ways, so there's no hurt feelings when we both want to bag hanging out but then spend the evening on our own couches texting each other.

All my other close friends no longer live where I live; while I do have some friend-acquaintances here, so it's been a joy to develop a more intimate and deeper friendship with someone who actually lives in the same city. I didn't realize how starved for that I've been. I slightly regret not learning a little bit earlier in life about how my habits of introversion and anxiety affects friend making, but she's so nice and awesome I'm grateful to have at least learned by now.
posted by barchan at 2:11 PM on November 10, 2017 [21 favorites]

I have leaping kitten videos of my big black doofus of a kitten whose favorite thing in the world right now is leaping to catch his little stuffed fish when we throw it and then he brings it over so we throw it again. He was the runt of his litter and then went through a phase where he was remarkably uncoordinated because he approximately tripled in size and couldn't tell where his limbs were, I think. He got over that and now is the king of weird leaps in the house. His sister is a bit more chill for now, but her favorite thing to wander around carrying in her mouth like the proud hunter is metal screws (she keeps finding new ones, much to my chagrin).
posted by rmd1023 at 2:24 PM on November 10, 2017 [9 favorites]

Reminder to everyone that my mefi is available to use. You can include or exclude tags to see or not see posts.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 2:36 PM on November 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

I knew just what she meant & then we were talking about the word slush & how it sounds like what it is, & I said do you know there’s a word for that, & she said, yeah, onomatopoieia!

Courtesy of my grade 10 English teacher:

Teacher: "What does the naughty Italian puppy do?"

Class: *eyeroll because incoming dad joke*

Teacher: On-a-mat-a-pee-yah!

Class: *silence*
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:01 PM on November 10, 2017 [9 favorites]

Happiness: I went on a date with my almost eight year old tonight. We both had the salad bar. He went to get some more lime jello and came back with a miniature blueberry muffin, just for me.

I also splurged this week and got myself a bright sweater, matching scarf and matching pajama pants in this print.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:12 PM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

I had a couple of really good job interviews this week. And my birthday is tomorrow!
posted by AFABulous at 3:13 PM on November 10, 2017 [27 favorites]

A bunch of babies are getting born next year which may significantly up the chances that we (without babies) will get to host Thanksgiving for the first time. Yay for babies!
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:16 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

I saw your question, AFABulous, and I'm so excited for you!
posted by Mouse Army at 3:58 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

A couple weeks ago I adopted this guy. His name is Owain Glyndwr and he just wants to see the world burn and SCREAM is how he feels inside and I love him. I am amazed at how much happier my life is with this fuzzy li'l dude in it.

(Also if you are anywhere near Philly and looking to adopt, Morris Animal Shelter is full of the best people and animals you will ever meet in your life.)
posted by kalimac at 4:08 PM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

I managed to find a copy of my dad's 1969 high school yearbook, which is going to be his Christmas present. (He just retired and seems to be feeling a bit nostalgic). On top of what an enjoyable time capsule the book ended up being, I'd never seen any pictures of my dad as a teenager. Turns out before the dapper '70s 'stache, he was absolutely adorkable! I'm carefully scanning that page because his baby face and horn-rimmed glasses make me smile.
posted by haruspicina at 4:09 PM on November 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

DSS came by today to see if this is a suitable place for recently drug-addled suddenly absent farm mate's 9 year old to be. We all want her and she wants to stay here.

The floor is hell. Impossible not to track stuff in. But we clean it. Detail the bathrooms. I stack beef shanks in the middle of a stockpot and surround the stack with cut carrots and halved radishes, 4 bay leaves, simmer. House smells good. Light the fireplace. It's like we are trying to sell the place and I guess we are.

So DSS shows up with a Deputy Sheriff. He wants to look at guns and she wants to talk to 9 somewhere private so we send them to the bugged room and Sheriff says don't I know you? OK? Think, look at his face. Yeah. 5 years ago this month we were first at that three car wreck on Fruitland. Point at boy. He was there too. He's bigger now.

It jars him. He was new but 2 tours and having trouble processing civilian carnage back home. We did all the initial work while he glazed. He's glazed again as I show him. Boy takes him out to the barn where we keep a couple. It's just farm guns. No assault rifles. I hear the barn rifle twice. They come back laughing about something. Kid nailed a coyote scout. So that part is solved.

Social worker would like the adults to come in. 9 is not glazed. She realizes this is her life at stake. We chit-chat. 9 makes clear her affection for us both physically and verbally. Now social worker would like to inspect the house.

Cabinets open and close. Social worker left her laptop in the bugged room and 13 is all over that, whispers that we are doing good. Social worker asks to use the facilities. You can't open that medicine cabinet quietly. There's quite a bit in there but nothing fun.

So the stew is smelling wonderful now and the kids would like to eat so I put some rice on. Social worker mentions that we don't have any snacks. What? No chips candy? She's about 50 lbs overweight. We don't snack. I mean there's a fruit bowl over there and sometimes we have popcorn while we watch movies and we do bring things with us when we go after the coyotes at night but that's about it.

She wants the adults alone now. The nature of our relationship?

Well it was just 3 single parents banding together for financial and childcare reasons during tough times. Now we've lost one and that's going to be tough. We've lost flexibility. Winter is coming. We have enough wood, food, love. Our kids love 9 and we do too. It's so rare to see 3 unrelated kids get along like this.

Then she wants the three kids alone. Lot of laughter coming from that room.

Recommendation to the court is that 9 stays here!

So dinner is served and we watch each other being interviewed and blow stew out our noses when we get to 9's solo performance. She was so on.

No, never. When I was little he wiped my butt sometimes. BUT THAT WAS IT! Can you just stop now?

I gotta go drive all night now. I hope I see some of the repeat passengers who were worried about this so I can crow.

Not over yet but we are happy tonight.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:12 PM on November 10, 2017 [57 favorites]

Tomorrow, three of the best humans and I are working at a fundraising country-themed drag show called Cross Country and while I will not be in drag because I’m just working the merch table, it is an excuse to throw together a fabulous outfit involving a slinky black velvet jumpsuit, cowboy boots, and a big silver belt buckle.

And I just learned that I’m able to join some river friends on a month long raft trip through the Grand Canyon this January and I’m having a hard time processing just how amazing the trip will be.

Good plans.
posted by Grandysaur at 4:20 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

I've always wanted to play electric guitar, but for various reasons (most of them dumb) I've never done it. A few weeks ago I traveled to visit one of my best friends, who told me they were in the exact same boat -- always wanted to learn, never did, so we decided we'd inspire each other to do it. A few hours ago they texted me a picture of an ice-blue Fender Duo-Sonic and the caption JUST BOUGHT MY FIRST GUITAR AND OFF TO MY FIRST LESSON, WAITING TO HEAR NEWS OF YOURS and it made me so excited that I am now making plans to go guitar shopping for the first time in my life. Telecaster, maybe?
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 4:25 PM on November 10, 2017 [12 favorites]

Teacher: On-a-mat-a-pee-yah!

I think even most dads would have higher standards than that! I mean, I love stupid corny jokes more than most people, but even I didn't laugh at that one. ...Or rather I did, but only at how heinously craptastic it was.

More apropos to this thread, one of the happiest things I've encountered lately is this short comedy routine, which is both funny and charming.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:25 PM on November 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

The kid (20 months) and I had a tiny dance party to Lizzo's Good as Hell earlier tonight.

We are more than halfway through planting around 27,000 flower bulbs at work and for the first time since we starting doing it, I'm not feeling overwhelmed by the impending season of the other kind of bulbs: holiday lights.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:26 PM on November 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

Tomorrow, I am headed to my sister's place for the weekend, where the two of us (and possibly also our youngest sister and her boyfriend) are going to watch all the extant Star Wars movies over the course of two days. My sister has never seen most of them, whereas I am a giant nerd who is full of absurd trivia.

This is probably Entirely Too Much Star Wars for one weekend, but I've been looking forward to it for about a month and am very excited.
posted by darchildre at 4:34 PM on November 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

This is a week at work when lots of people yell at me because they're dealing with the consequences of their own irresponsibility, and they think that I should do something about it, even though there is literally nothing that I have the power to do. I wish I were more zen about this, but I want to fix people's problems, and I don't like having people mad at me. Also, some people have problems that I can fix if I give up my lunchbreak, so I'm hungry a lot. God, do I really fucking hate this week. Next week will be worse, and then everything will be fine again. I just have to get to next Friday and then people will stop yelling at me and expecting me to skip lunch because they didn't do the things they were supposed to do.

But that's not happy! We have to do a group project in my CS class, which stressed me out, because I don't know anyone in the class and didn't know how I was going to find a group. But I dealt with it like a grownup (which I am! unlike pretty much everyone else in the class!) and stood up in class and asked if anyone needed a group, and now I have a group. I'm a little concerned that one of my partners seems not to be taking the class that seriously, and the other one seems way more advanced than me or the first partner, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. The project involves making an actual app, which I haven't done before, so I'm pretty excited about that. And it feels like a bit of a victory to have dealt with a social anxiety situation without making a big production out of it.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:35 PM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

I just built a super solid rolling wooden platform. It's about 4.5' x 3', and will eventually be a lumber storage stand, but for now it's just a platform. It could also be a mini stage!
posted by amtho at 4:40 PM on November 10, 2017 [7 favorites]

My group just finished up a year long rpg campaign that had an even better ending session than I had even imagined. All of the major plot threads and characters arcs pulled together in a beautiful way. I was really proud of my players for the great and sometimes quite intense roleplaying.

Next up... high romantic fantasy based off of the Blue Rose system/setting.
posted by nolnacs at 4:41 PM on November 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

Monster No. 1 knocked off the toy canister and OD'd on catnip so he's uncharacteristically asleep at an early hour tonight.

Which leaves me with older kitty purring away in my lap and Monster No. 2 is off somewhere; possibly getting into trouble. But I don't care right now cause it's warm catlap time and tonight's going to be our first cold snap of the Fall.
posted by mightshould at 4:48 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

Three weeks ago my husband was fired from his job as assistant manager of an Applebee's in a storm of political infighting among management and due officially to the restaurant as a whole having failing numbers. Today he is officially the general manager of a new restaurant co-owned by a friend, working with people he really likes, doing far less hours for about the same money, and not miserable. (And in a lovely bit of schadenfreude, people from the old restaurant keep calling him to tell him how terrible it is since he left and how many people have quit.)

Basically, for once in our lives it feels like the bad thing that happened ACTUALLY happened for a reason and the universe was doing it's best to help us out and put him where he should be.

Also I have two kittens that we took in who were living behind the Applebee's dumpster and they are ridiculous. Here they are cuddling with my oldest cat Weasel, who likes mothering kittens. (You can look back through my photos to see them get smaller...)
posted by threeturtles at 4:50 PM on November 10, 2017 [24 favorites]

(And in a lovely bit of schadenfreude, people from the old restaurant keep calling him to tell him how terrible it is since he left and how many people have quit.)

I have had a similar experience. It's kind of delightful to know how needed you were as a part of a business. And while it's unfortunate that the people left behind suffer a bit more, it helps you feel better about yourself.

Congrats to your husband threeturtles. That's good to hear that he's in a better place with better mental health.
posted by Fizz at 4:52 PM on November 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

Update: Gingerbread lattes are indeed a thing that exists. I just had one with a slice of gingerbread loaf and I am officially festive af. And pretty happy. (All of my happy posts have revolved around food. I may have to look into that when I decide not to be so happy.)
posted by greermahoney at 4:52 PM on November 10, 2017 [15 favorites]

Oh, since fetching cats were mentioned, Weasel has always been a fetcher and one of the kittens has been doing it. He has this one little ball he loves that he carries around in his mouth while he growls fiercely. I have semi-crappy video of him fetching and growling a bit here.
posted by threeturtles at 4:55 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

Welp, I laundered, I stacked wood, I showered, and now there's a big fat cat asleep on my lap (he does not fetch).

I wish I had a hamburger though.
posted by elsietheeel at 4:57 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

I take pictures of my lemur when I'm on holiday.

And slightly related, Texas the Psychic Horse is something that exists.
posted by Katemonkey at 4:58 PM on November 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

I just finished The Tensorate novellas by J.Y. Yang: The Black Tides of Heaven and The Red Threads of Fortune. Both are tremendously good and I'm telling everyone I know to read it, lately.

My one-paragraph book rave: an Asian fantasy world (Imperial China-esque) full of queer and poly people; revolution & activism; a fascinating magical system; sensitive, perceptive treatment of issues like PTSD and childhood emotional abuse; a politically active Buddhist monk featuring as the sexy romantic lead; and, oh yeah, dinosaurs thrown in just for fun.

As messed-up as the world is right now, it's cheering to know that diverse books like this are being published (and by Tor.com! Their novella imprint is pretty great).
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 5:32 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

my infant child fiona hippo is 570lbs today
posted by poffin boffin at 6:00 PM on November 10, 2017 [14 favorites]

feeling good about the snow. There's a sensuality about winter, swaddled in coats and hats and gloves and survival kits in the back seat (one doesn't horse around with weather in North Dakota). I have a great coat that seals out 100% of drafts and wind, and it turns out that's all you need down to zero degrees. Picked up some very quality gloves at Costco. Work stress is low. The cat has lost weight on her diet and is very playful (or hungry. same thing maybe).

Things are just peachy, 'til I open a browser and find out that the Politicians are At It Again. So then I close the browser a read a book.
posted by wires at 6:08 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

Turns out we saved some mini 100 Grand bars from Halloween so it’s party time. 🎉
posted by uncleozzy at 6:10 PM on November 10, 2017 [8 favorites]

Turns out we saved some mini 100 Grand bars from Halloween so it’s party time. 🎉

WHERE, GODDAMMIT, WHERE

LET ME AT EM
posted by duffell at 6:14 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

Drinking a pumpkin beer with family and snacks.
posted by Fizz at 6:26 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

one doesn't horse around with weather in North Dakota

I just found out that Duluth Trading Company - who, for those of you unaware of them, actually makes REAL work clothes for women, like women shaped and with POCKETS and not eggplant or teal and also with the same fabric as the men's clothes and EVERYTHING - just opened up a store where I live.

I'm screaming. This is happiness.
posted by barchan at 6:30 PM on November 10, 2017 [13 favorites]

I've gotten up early every day this week and walked my dogs before leaving for work. It's the best way to start my day and has helped me feel good and grounded and ready to face anything because my 3 dogs think I'm the greatest mom ever and we saw a squirrel and a bird and a kitty etc etc
posted by RichardHenryYarbo at 6:34 PM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

Another good thing; 5k training! When I was in K-12 I did track and I was a sprinter. I hated anything long-distance. I can't safely bike where I am now, so I started jogging occasionally to get some much-needed exercise in. Then a friend tagged me to do a 5k over Thanksgiving, so I've been doing it more regularly. A month and a half ago I could barely jog for half an hour without needing to walk partway through. A month ago I was doing 5k in about 30-31 minutes, and feeling dead afterwards. As of a few days ago I'm doing something close to 26 minutes and only needing about 5 minutes recovery afterwards, and doing that most days of the week. My only goal for the actual "race" is to finish it with my friend, but it feels good to do this thing that I always thought was impossible for me.

Related: dance lessons. go take dance lessons! dance lessons are AWESOME.
posted by curious nu at 6:46 PM on November 10, 2017 [9 favorites]

This is Purrsephone. She hollowed out a space in the theology section, because she is more divine than those silly old books.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:48 PM on November 10, 2017 [15 favorites]

I discovered that the village's new antiques shop delivers, which led to this late-19th/early-20th c. Eastlake commode entering my house. It's being inspected by Ozias Midwinter (in front) and his brother Allan Armadale.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:02 PM on November 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

I've never done any serious work with 2" EMT before. Today I executed a perfect offset, on a ceiling, around an obstruction, on the first try.
posted by Mitheral at 7:33 PM on November 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

Aw man, we have so many 100 Grand bars left over here because Halloween was cold and drizzly, and we therefore got about a quarter of the kids my partner was expecting--and that means plenty of candy left for us. I've emptied some of the bags into a kitchen basket just tall enough for the dog to not be able to snack at will, and have been nomming as I go.
posted by sciatrix at 7:36 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

I made parkin after seeing a reference to it somewhere. I went years without baking, and I'm so, so happy to be back in the kitchen. It doesn't even matter that I overbaked the parkin and dried it out, because my reaction wasn't to give up, but to go back and make a new batch! You'd probably have to know me personally to know why this feels like a triumph, but it does, and it is, and I might start the other batch tonight. I've also pulled out and dusted off my cookbooks and baking books (literally, I had to dust them), and I'm thinking I might bake a loaf of break this weekend, for the first time in a couple years. I am far, far more excited about this than my writing here suggests.

Plus, Netflix has added a new season of the Great British Baking Show, and I have a whole bunch of Master Class episodes to get through. (We've made a drinking game out of the GBBS Master Class: take shot every time Paul cracks up at Mary's unintentional innuendo. "Once this dies down and turns a nice straw color, I'm going to take it off the heat, put my nuts in it, lift them out, and they'll be all coated in caramel.")
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:09 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

Also, someone recently told me to stop being so self-deprecating, especially about my academic life, so I've made it a personal goal to accept that I can say positive things about myself without jinxing my life or looking full of it. I ran into a professor I took a class with years ago, and when she asked how my research was going, I said "it's going great!" and I realized it actually is. Again, you probably need to know me personally to know why this feels huge, but again, it does, and it is.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:11 PM on November 10, 2017 [18 favorites]

For reasons unmentionable here, I discovered One Missippi's second season was available, so I binge-watched that today, and it made me happy.

I woke up at 3am because a mosquito flew INTO MY NOSE, which was not happy while it was happening but keeps cracking me up in retrospect.

One of my cats slept in his fancy cat bed today, after he had been ignoring the fancy cat bed in favor of cardboard boxes, cardboard scratchers, towels, and various pieces of paper, all of which are obviously way more comfortable than a padded, fleece-lined cat bed, so that felt like a victory.
posted by lazuli at 10:15 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

omgomgomgomgomgomg I just got my secret quonsar
posted by not_the_water at 10:44 PM on November 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

My manicurist referred to me as "she" for the first time. A little thing, but it made me smile.
posted by saltbush and olive at 10:45 PM on November 10, 2017 [17 favorites]

Weekend away at Point Reyes! In an awesome little cottage, with a great dinner and NO KIDS FOR TWO DAYS.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 10:56 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

omgomgomgomgomgomg I just got my secret quonsar

ME TOO AND THE SHOPPING IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!!!!
posted by lazuli at 11:00 PM on November 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

At this point, I think I'd rather have the jam.

Send me the partner and keep the damn jam already!

I keed, I keed!
posted by Samizdata at 11:13 PM on November 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Thanks, folks. This may not been because of me, but it was needed by me. October was a month from hell for me on several fronts, and this (and the aforementioned awesome friends) really helped.

So cheers, and hopes for a better one for all of you!

(Also, if anyone has that spare partner...)
posted by Samizdata at 11:26 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

I suppose what amuses me most is the assumption some have that we've hit rock bottom. Never assume. And the Russian National Anthem fucking rocks!!!
posted by philip-random at 11:53 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

And the Russian National Anthem fucking rocks yt !!!

even better
posted by philip-random at 11:56 PM on November 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

I got a big national grant yesterday and have been drinking pretty solidly ever since. Mostly to celebrate, but also to delay having to think about how I'm actually going to do all the work.

Also in just about as important happy news, my cat is being cute. I should probably water her so she sprouts.
posted by lollusc at 1:17 AM on November 11, 2017 [12 favorites]

Mrs. Ghidorah and I took a day on Wednesday and took the cats to the vet for their shots and check up. Both are fine. We saw Thor, and it was enjoyable. Yesterday, while smoking Andouille (a restaurant in Tokyo uses it, and I'm one of maybe two or three people in Japan that make it), I also smoked a piece of pork belly.

Seriously, if you haven't tried it, and you're okay with meat, and you have access to a smoker, just a little chunk of pork belly (maybe an inch or two section), salt, black pepper, a little granulated garlic, and cherry wood, about two hours or so, and then thinly sliced, it's pretty great.
posted by Ghidorah at 2:46 AM on November 11, 2017 [6 favorites]

Good thing: I wrote the better part of a book! Bad thing: not the book I was planning on writing. I've got about a month to make some headway on that, in terms of figuring out the heart of the idea. I see failure alternative versions of success on the horizon, at best.

Good thing: probably going to Hong Kong for a long weekend (I live in Singapore these days, so it's not a big deal) to say hi to old friends and contacts, hopefully pursue conversations with my new acquaintance the agarwood trader. Bad thing: need about six more months in HK but only had the funding for four and that's used up. Honestly the actual biggest bad thing is just the fucking scarcity of time, or rather how much of it I have to use up in pursuit of either money or some dopamine hit that the rabbitholes of the internet very occasionally provide.

Good thing: it's only a month until I see my partner! Bad thing: we're spending five days in Tokyo with his parents [who immigrated from there about forty years ago]. Reuniting is always a bit rough for me, and this won't help, even though his parents are wonderful and it'll be nice to get the natsukashii tour of Tokyo.

Good thing: brain unfuzzy enough to read again! Bad thing: no bad things except for the enormity of what I have yet to start in on!

Good thing: I'm on a panel with one of my idols tomorrow, Ben Katchor. Bad thing: there doesn't gotta be a lead lining on all my silver clouds, just some of 'em.
posted by tapir-whorf at 2:54 AM on November 11, 2017 [4 favorites]

Today I ran my second 10k race since adulthood. One of the things I wish I knew years ago is that Korean races are cheap to enter (less than $30 usually, sometimes even free! Today's was about $10), every race has prize money (!!!), the fields are not that competitive (last race I won $100!), and best of all, after the race there is free food and booze!

Anyway, I was hoping that I could be top 5 today - so I could win money - but earlier in the week I was playing with my kids and kind of tweaked my groin. Since I had already paid the entrance fee, though, I decided to go and play it by ear and you know, worst case scenario I walk away with a full stomach.

Well, I had originally planned to drive so I could bring the family along, but the weather was supposed to be cold (and it was), so at the last minute I decided to take public transportation / shuttle bus. While it would have been nice to go with the family, honestly not driving is better because of the free booze. Also, several colleagues from work signed up for the race, which is nice, but they all backed out at the last minute (busy, too cold, lazy, etc). This is also good, because I honestly do not spend enough time alone, and I also am much more competitive than they are and am better able to focus on my own race.

Anyway, it was frigid. I started out in decent shape, but I was fighting against the tight muscle right out the gates. Still I was doing well, running my own race for the first 1500 meters or so. Right up until the course made a blind turn and am looking at a cliff face with a road carved into the side of it. The race name is the Yeongheung Seaside Marathon, but it turns out there is no seaside. Have you ever seen the movie Ponyo? The race was like that. Still, I was feeling OK - albeit stiff - and decided to keep working and see what place I could come in. The course is 5km out to a U-turn and then 5km back, so I knew that all these devastating ups and downs would be waiting for me on the way back.

Then, just a bit before the turnaround I saw a pack of 5 runners wearing 10km bibs and dominating the course. After them were maybe 4 more people that I possibly could have picked off, but I knew at that point I was going to be out of the money (only top 5 gets cash, and I knew I had no chance of catching that lead group). So, I hit the U-turn and decided I would take it easy on the way back. With the sore groin and the fact that I am out of the money, there seemed like little reason to punish myself and possibly hurt myself worse. I put the brakes on a bit and cruised up to the 8km point (incidentally noticing that about 60% of the field behind me was walking, tough course). I remembered from the way out that 2km out was the top of the first brutal hill so decided to hit the afterburners a bit, ran the last 2,000 meters at speed (dusting quite a few of the people who passed me while I was taking it easy) and clinched a top 20 finish (41:34 - not a great time, but the hills, the hills).

So my leg hurts and I didn't get on the podium, but honestly a race is the most spiritual thing that I have and I got to be out there without worrying about my wife and kids or my coworkers. It was glorious.

Oh, and I sat on the infield of the track (start/finish line), watched people come in while eating tofu kimchi and drinking not one but two bottles of rice wine.

OK so this story should end, but I have to mention that while drinking by myself and watching runners finish I saw this 80 year old couple coming in on the 10k course at like just a hair under two hours and they were holding hands. I started to get all emotional, which is a bad look for drinking by yourself, but was saved from having people watch me cry by a pack of dudes on segways that came buzzing by seconds later. The ridiculousness of that sight managed to save me from shedding more than about half a sentimental tear.
posted by Literaryhero at 5:34 AM on November 11, 2017 [12 favorites]

I'm done with the gym for the week and I don't have to get up early to go to the CSA so I am still in jammies at 8:30.

Also I kind of overspent in Berlin, so I'm having to be really cautious until I get paid in 4 days - but that just means that I'll be diving in and doing some homey domestic things this weekend, and that actually always makes me feel good. (Ooh, maybe I'll try baking bread from scratch!)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:39 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

poffin boffin, have you ordered your 2018 Fiona calendar?
posted by cooker girl at 5:48 AM on November 11, 2017

I’ve just got home from a messy, unhinged, warehouse party thrown by an acquaintance of whom I am very fond (is that a thing?) She used to run a goth night that I DJed at, confusing Cure fans with noise and gabber. I revived the old DJ name for her - it was her 40th, so you do favours - and for 90 minutes or so tonight I turned a tiny North Coburg garage into a seething, sweaty *core swamp. It’s been a few years since I did a real set to real people, and I just hit the right level of brutality vs humor vs outright insanity to fill the floor and keep it heaving. In pure technical terms - flips, juggles, transforms, slams, selections, pace - it was the best set I ever did.

Also I got a haircut yesterday, bought some nice clothes for my new job, had a great Pilates/training session, and treated myself well. I am in favour of these things.
posted by prismatic7 at 7:10 AM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

welp, it's below freezing outside, and my building's boiler has run out of hot water, which means no hot shower for at least a few more hours, and also the radiators are out

BUT

i have hot tea and a cat and a legitimate excuse to remain in my pyjamas literally all morning, so how can i really complain? AND i recently acquired a souffle/casserole dish, which means i am faced with the wonderful and terrible responsibility of deciding whether to make macaroni-and-cheese casserole or a full-on cheese souffle for dinner tonight.
posted by halation at 7:15 AM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

Yesterday was a really good day. The beau and I both had the day off, which doesn't happen very often for no reason, so we decided to take advantage of it. We went out for brunch, but the first place we were planning to go to was too crowded, so I remembered a little breakfast-and-lunch spot near my office that was open -- and not terribly busy. Also delicious!

Afterward, we headed to Barnes and Noble, because I'm participating in NaNoWriMo and there was a write-in scheduled. I chatted with everyone mostly, but also managed to write my daily quota, so that was reasonably productive. Since the movie theater is in the same mall as B&N, we went to go see the new Thor movie after that. Our favorite bartender at the movie theater was working, so we went over to say hello. The movie itself was great, and I was glad to see a movie in theaters after the super-disappointing summer season this year.

Next, we went to a hole-in-the-wall stir fry restaurant nearby for dinner. We were supposed to head to our friends' for a board game night, but we had about an hour to kill, so we went to the fancy new liquor store to get wine and beer for Thanksgiving dinner, then afterwards to the nearby Whole Foods. I'm going to make bread for the first-ish time for Thanksgiving, and I wanted a few supplies.

We ate some ice cream mochi, then brought key lime hard cider to our friends' house for board game night. We played One Night Revolution, and even though I was on the Informant (bad guy side), EVERY FREAKING ROUND that night, I managed to pull off a stunning bluff on the last game, where I was the only Informant in play the start of the round and managed to convince the entire table there had to be no Informants in play -- and then I accidentally picked the wrong person, because I'd forgotten who I'd lured over to my side during my turn.

Then I came home and played video games and attempted a bit of Christmas shopping online. It was a really good day.

This morning, I'm drinking tea and looking at cardigans for a Rapunzel-inspired Disneybound outfit. I have a write-in later, and I want to do that test batch of bread. I had to say no to a couple of social invitations later today due to NaNoWriMo commitments (and social anxiety/introversion limits in general), but I'm feeling okay about it. I think today will be good, too. I have high hopes.
posted by PearlRose at 7:23 AM on November 11, 2017 [7 favorites]

A year ago I got a new hip (deformed since birth) and this morning for the first time ever I swam 3/4 mile in a crawl, which I just learned last March.

Afterward I went to Wegmans and bought fresh bread, expensive “European style” butter and a fancy-schmancy jar of blood orange marmalade and now the sun is shining and for just this moment I FEEL SPECIAL.

May I wish all Mefites a little special-ness in the days ahead!
posted by kinnakeet at 7:45 AM on November 11, 2017 [27 favorites]

I'm about to go to the post office to buy a bunch of Snowy Day stamps, which are making me happy in a way that few other things are making me happy. I loved The Snowy Day so much as a little kid, and I have some things that I have to mail, so I have an excuse to buy them.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:54 AM on November 11, 2017 [12 favorites]

For anyone else who was a little bit interested in the Snowy Day stamps that ArbitraryAndCapricious linked to up above, I found this small aside on the New York Times.

“It’s a simple story: Peter wakes up, puts on a red snowsuit and plays in the snow, making tracks and snow angels and sliding down a “mountain” of snow. He puts a snowball in his pocket and is sad when, after his bath, it’s gone. But the next day he’s delighted that it has snowed again. Simple, but world-shifting: Peter was black, and no black child had ever been the protagonist of a full-color American picture book.

I can’t help wondering if King had seen “The Snowy Day,” maybe even read it to his own four children, who made such a momentous appearance in that speech. He might have found in the elegant collaged art and spare, poetic words by Keats, an American born to Polish Jewish immigrants, a glimpse of the world he was dreaming about, in which his children would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

It's a beautiful image and a lovely commemorative stamp.
posted by Fizz at 8:01 AM on November 11, 2017 [11 favorites]

I’m in a weirdly tropically-themed hotel in Springfield, MO, at a conference with a T-Rex as its logo, sharing a hotel room with my ex-girlfriend (one of those things that would really freak out a certain segment of AskMe questioners but is delightful in my life), about to give a talk about my history of activism with some of my closest friends.
posted by gingerbeer at 8:39 AM on November 11, 2017 [9 favorites]

Oh man Amazon has an animated short based on The Snowy Day and it is so beautiful. Lil ozzy loves the book and we noticed it on Amazon Video last year and took a chance.

Highly recommended if you want to bawl over people helping each other out. Plus Boyz II Men.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:39 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

Something that made me happy this week:

It's been a rough semester for many of my adult students. They're facing lots of academic and life challenges, and despite my best efforts to support them, a few have stopped coming to class for various reasons. But this past week, I've had two students who were on the verge of dropping out last month tell me they now feel confident they can successfully complete the semester. I was really worried about these two, so I am overjoyed that they feel like they can do it and proud to be witness to their success.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:16 AM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

People! My Hundred Grand bars are so November 1, gone baby gone! But I bought paint brushes! I found some perfectly good ones, another visitor to the store pointed them out to me, while I was looking at the $21 brushes, he said he liked these, which were always $4.99 each, so I was going to buy two, and it turned out they were buy one, get two free, so I bought six. You know, it made me happy.
posted by Oyéah at 10:00 AM on November 11, 2017 [7 favorites]

One big Youtube link: All of the musical cold openings for the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (US only, sorry)
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:12 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

I’ve got a pot of chili on the stove, a book in my hand, and a cat on my lap. Things are good right now.
posted by bookmammal at 10:19 AM on November 11, 2017 [9 favorites]

I went to a craft fair this morning and bought some awesome, very reasonably priced, locally made art for our house.
posted by gatorae at 11:26 AM on November 11, 2017 [7 favorites]

I had no idea everybody liked 100 Grand so much. My wife almost brought them to work to get rid of them and I was like, oh hell no.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:51 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

I told my boss I wanted to retire at the end of next February.
His boss called me up to offer me 17 weeks pay if I leave this year.
So I get to retire earlier with more money.
posted by MtDewd at 12:19 PM on November 11, 2017 [31 favorites]

I bought some silk pjs a little while ago and had the legs and arms hemmed. But I missed one top's arms and have been trying to get to the tailor to get them fixed. Well, this week,I did it. Picked them up yesterday and now have the set on and am so happy with the proper length arms. I'm easily pleased.
posted by MovableBookLady at 12:20 PM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]

Got a D&D group together with a few hometown friends finally! I had everyone roll characters Wednesday. Tonight we're going to play and I'm going to pretend to be a good DM. I've never had a group automatically all pick evil characters; I suspect they're going to murder hobo it up initially, but I'm betting it will be super fun regardless.
posted by Gymnopedist at 12:36 PM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]

I was run ragged at work in October and early November. I am now looking at some fairly tight scheduling next week, but then I get a visit from a super-great friend and four days of activities, a few days back at work, then a long-ish vacation weekend with basically nothing planned.

Also, I had lunch with friends on Friday and also got good news about one of my many bothersome medical situations, so that's positive.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:39 PM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

My wife and I were just out for a walk, and a passing neighbor said "You just got a package delivered!" We waved and thanked him, but thought he must be confusing us for somebody else, because we hadn't seen the mail truck go by. But when we got back to our house, I opened the mailbox just to check, and sure enough there was a package. A heavy package. Addressed to me. And it turned out to be the brand-new second volume of Stephen Kotkin's Stalin biography, with a nice note from mandolin conspiracy! Thank you many many times, mandolin conspiracy; I've been jonesing for this book ever since I read the first volume, and it makes me happier than you can imagine. Lots of good reading ahead! (For certain values of "good" that include reading about the Terror and mass starvation.)
posted by languagehat at 12:52 PM on November 11, 2017 [11 favorites]

I got a two-year-old rescue kitty in mid-September, and although she's a pretty fearless, makes-herself-at-home sort, she wasn't responding to my voice at all. I knew she could hear sounds well enough, but she didn't even flick an ear when I'd speak to her or call her. We hung out a lot and were bonding, for sure, but it was a little puzzling. Then, just this past Tuesday she opened up suddenly and let her true personality come to the surface!

She's completely engaged now, and she's really into me! I'm so happy. When I walk into the room, I get a head bob or a meow. When I speak to her, she looks directly at me and usually talks back in her quiet little trill+meow combo, and she tracks me with her eyes when I move about the apartment—or follows me, which, awwww—it's a simple thing, but I dunno, it's just swell.

And since I said the C-word, here she is. I downloaded an app in the iPad for her this morning, and she really digs it!
posted by heyho at 12:54 PM on November 11, 2017 [15 favorites]

heyho—your cat is adorable! That little face! Pets are the best—such wonderful furry little souls.
posted by bookmammal at 1:03 PM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

I donated blood platelets for the first time this past week! I love all the feel-good feels I get from donating blood, but I always expect it to be kind of a hassle because I'm frequently deferred for low hemoglobin, and then I always drain reeeaaally sloooowwly. But it turned out I had loads of Hb this time, and I beat the estimated donation time on the apheresis machine by like 20-30 minutes because I had loads of platelets too! Woo!
posted by gueneverey at 1:13 PM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

Hey metafilter. Do you know who is a good boy?

I adopted this dumdum 4 days ago. He immediately fell ill and turned into a sad sack of malaise and phlegm. He is on like three different medicines now but seems to be feeling better today.
posted by danny the boy at 1:15 PM on November 11, 2017 [21 favorites]

Mostly, the gnats, flies and similar scourges have succumbed to the cold. They get in your face, they get up your nose, they end up in your food and drink all year long. So long until next year, you little shits.

Um, that's about it.
posted by metagnathous at 2:17 PM on November 11, 2017 [9 favorites]

Went on a bare-bones grocery run this evening - some very, very basic staples that I was planning to use to make butt-simple survival-level eating for the next three days, so I don't spend money until payday.

But - I've discovered that by pure luck and chance, I also have the means to make a stripped-down cassoulet; and cassoulet is always something I've wanted to try.

So I'mma eat well tonight.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:22 PM on November 11, 2017 [11 favorites]

After three years and 9000 miles, my best friend and I reunited. It’s been a long three years and we haven’t kept up as well as we should have. So that first day was awkward as we tried to find our way back to friendship. By the last day, there was no question: I’m the only person who laughs at her jokes in English and she’s the only person who knows all my references.

The tragedy is that it will probably be another three years before we see each other again—but both of us are staying positive and using Line to chat more. Here’s to friends on the literal opposite side of the world!
posted by librarylis at 2:24 PM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

I’m a firm believer in being the Stalin bio you want to see in the world.

No. Wait. That’s not it.

Lots of good reading ahead! (For certain values of "good" that include reading about the Terror and mass starvation.)

You’re welcome and thanks for the recommendation and, uh, “enjoy”!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:28 PM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

I, uh....think you may have the wrong thread, mandolin?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:37 PM on November 11, 2017

I’ve got a pot of chili on the stove, a book in my hand, and a cat on my lap. Things are good right now.
posted by bookmammal at 10:19 AM on November 11

eponyaccurate
posted by halation at 2:45 PM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]

I, uh....think you may have the wrong thread, mandolin?

Nope.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:59 PM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

The edit window closed before I realized I forgot to link to languagehat's comment up above - guess it made for a hell of a non-sequitur. :)
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:00 PM on November 11, 2017

I have two rescued FeLV+ cats and I am so lucky that they are in my life. Sometimes they even love each other!
posted by easy, lucky, free at 3:04 PM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]

There is a dude at work, always quiet and no eye contact and i vowed to make him laugh so after lunch rush the other day it was quiet just him and i and I said:
"Micheal, the bridge is ours...I suggest we raid the liquor cabnet"

Got a laugh and a smile and sometimes thats enough.
posted by clavdivs at 3:28 PM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

I just discovered the wonders of Vermont Curry. An Asian grocery store opened down the road from me and on a whim I bought one of those concentrated curry roux bars, fired up the Instant Pot and the rice maker, and wow - what a fantastic supper for a cold New England night.

Also, it's Porch Beer season. Got a 6-pack of Wachusett Country Ale sitting on the back porch, cold for when I want one.
posted by KazamaSmokers at 3:31 PM on November 11, 2017 [6 favorites]

This cat makes me ridiculously happy. It's not mine, but we're definitely buddies.
posted by limeonaire at 3:54 PM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]

heyho, your cat is adorable!

Danny the boy, you're a good boy for adopting that good boy! Who is also adorable!

Yay, pets!
posted by lazuli at 4:23 PM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

And limeonaire, what a beautiful friend!
posted by lazuli at 4:24 PM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

I learned how to play The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin on guitar. Turns out the secret's mostly in the tuning (DGCGCD).

I wish my teenage self had known this instead of finding out in my 30's.
Many hours learning to play it in standard tuning. Builds character.

I've maintained for years that a lot of the early NES/SNES/Genesis music is essentially the folk music for a pretty big group of Gen Y (?? early millenials? whatever).

If you're using a Mac, SIDPlay is like iTunes for chip music, with a built in emulator and will sync to a library of 20 years of tunes.
posted by bongo_x at 4:25 PM on November 11, 2017

I'm also really enjoying the current trend of nonsense Facebook events, like Open a portal to another dimension at the arch. The weirder we can make that stupid social network, the better.
posted by limeonaire at 4:42 PM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

For about two weeks, I've had a monarch butterfly flying around my flowers (mums, lantanas, pineapple sage). I implored it to fly to Mexico, but it didn't.

On Thursday, after the first freeze, I found it sitting on my mums, apparently dead. I cut the branch it was on and brought it in, intending to keep its wings. After bringing it inside, it (barely) moved its antennae.

I now have a pet butterfly. It is not a bright butterfly, but it likes sitting on my hand and recently landed on my face.
posted by smangosbubbles at 4:45 PM on November 11, 2017 [16 favorites]

My gym got a bunch of swanky new cardio equipment this week, and when I used one of the new elliptical machines this morning my feet didn't start to feel numb halfway through like with the old machines. Yay!

I've been in a bit of a food rut lately (oh, spaghetti again?) but always feel a bit frustrated when faced with the cookbook section of the library - is there a cookbook for a lacto-ovo vegetarian who is only cooking for one person, does not own a food processor and who hates onions and lots of fiddly chopping? The answer usually seems to be no.

Anyway I picked up Martha Stewart's Meatless today and was happy to be reminded that food can be simple and also that hey, sprouts exist! Why did I stop buying them? I have no idea.

Here is a picture of my cat getting high on catnip while hiding in a shoe box.
posted by janepanic at 5:31 PM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

Jonathan Coulton tweets:

This week has been a real monster parade. It’s overwhelming. Today I put twitter down and spent a few hours making bad beep-boop music for no one. It helped a lot. Remember that you can leave this place for a while. The news will still be here when you come back.

Seems relevant across all social media.
posted by ZeusHumms at 5:32 PM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]

> Here is a picture of my cat getting high on catnip while hiding in a shoe box.

omg, little white toe!!
posted by heyho at 5:48 PM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

so it's a good thing i linked to the cassoulet recipe up above because DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG you want to try this

I'm very full though, even though I basically ate nothing but lentils and one sausage and a couple bacon strips
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:32 PM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]

Things are stressful in my extended family, social life and you know...on Earth, but my own little family of 4 is full of laughter, love and light.

My husband is in nursing school right now at 43. He lost his tech job last year and decided on a midlife career change instead of continuing something he kinda hated. Anyways, he has thrown himself into student life. Study groups, student government - everything. We are big Community fans, so I am encouraging him to live this dream. He was a bit worried his age made him Pierce but he's been assured by his classmates that he's really a Jeff/Abed split (which is wrong - He's obviously at least half Annie). Yesterday was especially great - he successfully recruited 6 classmates for D&D. And someone else wants to be DM so he doesn't have to plan! Hooray!

My cookies won first place at the Arizona State Fair for the 2nd year in a row! My 9 year old daughter’s Shai-Hulud diorama came in 2nd for 4th graders. Her good friend took 1st place with an Arizona themed diorama - they already had a friendly rivalry over their respective number of Junior Ranger badges but now it's really on. I'm just happy the judges didn't make an issue of its...shape.

This thread fills me with joy. Things are a mix of both good and bad in my world - but it's comforting to know happy things are going on all around the world. Even small ones. Little sparks of light shining through the darkness.
posted by Lapin at 8:13 PM on November 11, 2017 [20 favorites]

This comment by kovacs who is clearly using physics to solve a question about coffee.
posted by bendy at 9:07 PM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

As it happens, I did just eat a good piece of cake. Thanks for the relevant prompt, Fizz! It had rainbow sprinkles on top and confetti inside and it was so good that I almost couldn't bring myself to share any with my boyfriend. (I did give him a little though.)

While I ate my cake, I read some of Stella Parks's Bravetart, which is full of fun snack food history and delicious-looking pictures. I'm hoping to find the right pie recipe for Thanksgiving. The last time I made a pie was over 10 years ago, and I'm thinking it's time to try again.
posted by ferret branca at 9:30 PM on November 11, 2017 [4 favorites]

I just discovered the wonders of Vermont Curry.

Vermont Apple Curry? That might be my favorite food ever. Trust me, what you need is to cube some sweet potatoes and throw them in there (at the very beginning, they take a long time to cook). Life changing, which sounds ridiculous, but it really is.
posted by Literaryhero at 9:32 PM on November 11, 2017 [4 favorites]

My baby turned six today. He is the sweetest smartest damn kid in the world. I was stuck working in the hospital all day but he was able to hold off opening his presents until after I met them at the sushi place in my hospital scrubs. Apparently he told my wife “since I couldn’t see daddy all day, maybe he’ll want to spend all night with me!” (He’s asleep beside me right now). Anyway, he was super excited to open his presents, especially the Snap Circuit expansion set he wanted so bad, but the Best Thing Ever was when he opened his older brother’s gift, a gigantic Pokémon Set of Insanity which will finally put him on equal footing with his brother. The two of them jumped up and down and hugged while baby brother yelled “Thank you! Thank you!” spontaneously. He liked my placeholder gift of a book about Narwhals — He’s been obsessed since the Narwhal and Jellyfish books and it was the primary reason for our trip to Iceland last spring — but he’s going to love the Narwhal tattoo I’m having done next week, to match the tattoo I had done for his older brother last year. But mostly, I’m just so appreciative of having an amazing family that loves me and doesn’t resent the fact that I’m too absent because of work.

Work is amazingly shitty and getting rapidly shittier due to the whole Americans Can’t Fucking Do Healthcare Right, but coninciding with an announcement that I will be required to put in way more hours, I was recruited to interview for a fairly high profile academic job where I would have the opportunity to do something about the Americans Can’t Fucking Do Healthcare Right. I’m pretty sure I won’t get this job because it’s a national search and a Big Deal, but as soon as I interviewed it set off a cascade of “We really don’t want you to leave and what can we do to get you to stay” and “You’re looking for a new job, Slarty? If Big Deal job doesn’t come through, we’d really like to talk to you.” which is all very nice to hear at a time when my career choices thus far are feeling like a series of horrible mistakes. I’m being called in for a mysterious meeting next week with the medical director and the brand new “Chief Transformation Officer” of my organization and whatever it’s about, it’s nice to know that “Well actually, go fuck yourself” is a viable response.

Also, I bought myself a really great pair of not-at-all-dad-jeans last week that look good and fit really well.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:38 AM on November 12, 2017 [16 favorites]

Yesterday I went to Meow Wolf and it was AMAZING and today I had dinner with filthy light thief & mrs. thief and that was awesome! I love Santa Fe, all of northern New Mexico is blowing me away, I think I might - might, might, it’s early days yet -want to move here next year.
posted by mygothlaundry at 3:57 AM on November 12, 2017 [4 favorites]

but he’s going to love the Narwhal tattoo I’m having done next week, to match the tattoo I had done for his older brother last year.

If I got tattoos of my children's design, I would be covered in butts.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:27 AM on November 12, 2017 [2 favorites]

Slarty - if you happen to get to DC in the next couple of years - Narwhal.
posted by gudrun at 7:57 AM on November 12, 2017

I finished knitting a sweater for me, and it’s dead sexy.
posted by Liesl at 8:10 AM on November 12, 2017 [11 favorites]

A while back on here, I said I wanted to get to Mt. Sinai (St. Catherines) after new texts were discovered there, I not only climbed Mt. Sinai at midnight in the dark and got to see the sunrise from the top of Gebel Musa (St. Catherines Monastery is a real nexus of people of faith through history), but I found a good way to cross over to Jordan, and got to see and explore the beautiful piece of history that is Petra. Truly a wonder of the world (and so much more than just ‘The Treasury’). The world, and the people on it are part of such an ancient chain of history, through all the many times we have fought each other over things that don’t matter at all, it gives me hope to see how life just continues on, even when something doesn’t work out. Seeing the pieces of life that were left behind in Petra remind me how we are what we leave behind when we go, what people remember of us, what we have built and what our lives have meant. It makes me want to build up others, to help carry some weight, to strive to inspire or assist others. It also terrifies me.
posted by infinite intimation at 11:19 AM on November 12, 2017 [9 favorites]

I found a cute dress for my upcoming 20 year high school reunion that fit my criteria of having sleeves (that cover my shoulders), no random cutouts, and is long enough to let me comfortably sit down. And it has POCKETS.

While waiting for my dog to be done at the groomers yesterday, I got to play with a hedgehog, thus checking another thing off my bucket list.

But speaking of bucket list, today, I raised my right hand, and solemnly repeated after Sean Astin the Goonie oath. And because he is wonderful human being, he gave me an amazing pep talk about my mental health and told me to keep fighting, ending that I am duty bound to do so now because I am a Goonie.

A little further down the celebrity row at RI Comic Con was Gaten Matarazzo, the only person my kid wanted to meet. He has cleidocranial dysplasia, she has ectodermal dysplasia, so it was more than just wanting to meet the kid from Stranger Things, you know? But his line was closed for the day. Sadie Sink was next to him, and her line was short. I took a bet on the power of female kindness. Tell her about the dysplasia, I said. From another line, I watched the kid take off her wig. Sadie tapped Gaten on the shoulder, and he ran over to quickly hug the kid. The bet paid off. At that moment, his line reopened. When we got up to him, he said to the kid "I'm so glad you got through. It was really great meeting you." It meant the world for the kid to meet someone else with dysplasia.
posted by Ruki at 2:14 PM on November 12, 2017 [13 favorites]

Gaten Matarazzo is bloody awesome.

(And - where did you find the dress?.....)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:20 PM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

Slowly building my energy back up after kidney cancer surgery. I can almost walk without a cane now.

My mom bought me a "new to me" car for my birthday (the 5th) - an ex-Texas Highway Patrol cop car. 2011 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. I'm having a blast driving it.

http://www.mrbill.net/cv/pics2/
posted by mrbill at 2:26 PM on November 12, 2017 [12 favorites]

OMG I AM IN SANTA FE, TOO!!!! MGL!
posted by Stewriffic at 2:32 PM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

mygothlaundry check your memail. <3
posted by Stewriffic at 2:33 PM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

(And - where did you find the dress?.....)

eShakti. Shout out to His thoughts were red thoughts for the suggestion there.
posted by Ruki at 2:34 PM on November 12, 2017

Gteat to hear your progress mrbill!

Today was a great day in my world. I took a day off from work after a solid month of working every day (three jobs sucks) and I lazed around with catlap till 9AM and then let kitties out into kittycompound all day long while I tidied up the yard and put a chicken carcass in the crockpot and made soup and did laundry (clean sheets tonight! ) and I didn't work from home like planned but that's alright cause I was flat out tired.

And the weather was perfectly cool and not windy and beautifully sunny. I've had multiple catlapping sessions and finally feel ready to face another week.
posted by mightshould at 2:58 PM on November 12, 2017 [5 favorites]

It was my birthday on Tuesday, but celebrations have been held in abeyance for a short while. On Wednesday I had surgery to replace a faulty defibrillator / pacemaker, my sixth coronary procedure, which seems to have been a success. So of course I'm happy to be here, but mostly very very grateful to have the NHS and all the wonderful caring staff that work in it, while it lasts, to save my life again.
posted by punilux at 3:19 PM on November 12, 2017 [12 favorites]

I saw this snowpope yesterday and that made me pretty happy.
posted by Kattullus at 3:23 PM on November 12, 2017 [7 favorites]

Liesl, that sweater is beautiful.

I've been having a really rough time of it this year and was dreading this couple of weeks, 'cause my selected human had to do a business trip to a sort of dangerous place. (He gets back soon.) But my friends have Stepped The Fuck Up in such a huge way it will probably make me cry to type it. My buddy Emi came from another country to hang for a long weekend. She had to teach a couple of long-distance English classes to kids while she was here, so the kitchen table had tiny animal finger puppets on it all weekend.

I got her to watch The Good Place with me and she was super into it, guessing every plot point and getting excited about everything. We got to the part (not a spoiler) where Chidi gets his perfect meal, the maafi, and she made me pause and ask if I'd ever had maafi. I had not. She got SUPER EXCITED and ran out to get ingredients and made me some super-delicious bright-orange veggie maafi over rice while we laughed about how in the version of Arabic we both kinda know, "ma fii" means "there isn't any." "Hey, Emi, is there?" "There isn't any."

My band played Friday night and everything with the tech and sound went wrong, but it was a delightful time anyway. An elderly couple who are fans of the band and who are literally named Jim and Pam showed up despite the cold and we got to chat and we all got hugs and free beer all night.

Also, I finally got my learner's permit, which is kinda big because paperwork is my kryptonite (been driving 20 years, but my old license is expired). Tomorrow is therapy and babysitting a rad year-and-a-half year old and trivia night with another old friend, so that should also be just fine. Thank you all for your happy stories and happy victories all around. Love to you all.
posted by lauranesson at 4:15 PM on November 12, 2017 [8 favorites]

AND! I am watching cortex's talk and it very much feels like an emotional hug. So thank you for that, too.
posted by lauranesson at 4:33 PM on November 12, 2017 [3 favorites]

Faint of Butt, I am hoping you relate your D&D experience once you recover.

The other day I rode up to a job site with someone who's starting to play with his kid, and I kind of talked him through my experience with the 5E starter set, so I am pretty keyed up about D&D right now.
posted by curious nu at 6:11 PM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

I finished knitting a sweater for me, and it’s dead sexy.

It really is. I can't believe you made that. I think my idea of knitting is very inaccurate, and/or you are especially talented.
posted by bongo_x at 9:55 PM on November 12, 2017

My sweetie's coming home tonight after a week away.

Last night I went to a delightful wedding of two wonderful people at a fascinating venue.

A company I occasionally do contract work for booked me for a few days at CES in January to help out the Hong Kong team. I worked with the HK team on a different job in Shanghai last spring. It turns out they were already planning to bring someone to do what I was being hired for, and when the Hong Kong folks heard that the LA people had asked me they said "Oh yes, let's have under_petticoat_rule there as well, he was great and very useful in Shanghai." So that was nice to hear. I'm hoping they'll book me for the same show this year (but in Beijing, it alternates between Beijing and Shanghai). Oh, and some people I worked for in May have already reached out to start talking to me about this year's go-round. I guess they really liked me if they're calling me 6 months in advance.

I decided not to build a new computer this year, instead I got a new GPU (GTX 1080 Ti) and I finally replaced my external Firewire audio interface with a new USB interface. And I got a 5TB external hard drive. Now I can capture uncompressed 10-bit HD video without worrying about running out of space (I capture uncompressed when I'm shooting greenscreen).

I've got two jars of cucumber pickles and a jar of green bean pickles fermenting away in the kitchen. I think the beans are going to be amazing. I think the cukes will be adequate at the very least, with a pretty good chance of being better than that.

I've been wanting to include more music in my creative time. I've had a looping pedal (Boss RC-50) for over a decade but have never really figured it out, so I've got that set up now with a digital delay and some other effect pedals, and I've been having a lot of fun making weird noises with that. I'd like to be able to perform live with it at some point.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 9:58 PM on November 12, 2017 [3 favorites]

Our son went off on his first solo long-distance drive, taking away our new car (new to us, actually it's 15 years old) to go pick up his German girlfriend who was ending her college internship at an organic seed farm in Nova Scotia. This involved about 375 miles of driving, crossing into Canada (and back again), leaving our car parked for four days while he traveled by ferry across the Bay of Fundy (and back again, with her).

Long story short: everything went without a hitch. No car trouble, no accidents, his girlfriend still seems to adore him... nothing like all that to make a parent happy.
posted by LeLiLo at 11:56 PM on November 12, 2017 [8 favorites]

-My daughter got accepted as a transfer student from community college into a 4-year school where she can do a linguistics major with a focus in Korean AND pay in-state tuition AND get a guaranteed housing placement!
After waiting for 6 months, a feral cat has showed up to patrol our barn. Looks to be youngish, probably about 6 months old, but super skittish and I don't know if at this point s/he will ever take much to human contact. So we decided the time had come to add an indoor kitten at The Bee n' Rose and after a few bad experiences at the county shelters we found this pretty little calico girl at a Petco adoption event and got to take her home the same day.
posted by drlith at 4:53 AM on November 13, 2017 [11 favorites]

I deleted my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I had been on Twitter for ten years.
posted by mecran01 at 5:28 AM on November 13, 2017 [13 favorites]

Our cookbook just came out and we sent author copies to contributors and friends and family and I feel like a little kid again "See? We made a thing!" but everyone enthusiastically loves it, so.
posted by aniola at 9:45 AM on November 13, 2017 [10 favorites]

Gloriously happy news in our little corner of the world: a child we know who has been in cancer treatment was declared to be in remission. There's still a long road ahead of more treatment, but this is fantastic news. Lots of happy tears in our network this weekend.

I spent the weekend thinking of and being grateful for the thousands (tens of thousands?) of people who worked to make this treatment is so effective. When I was a kid, kids mostly died of this cancer. Now most of them are cured. All the researchers, nurses, doctors, data analysts, project coordinators, schedulers, bench scientists, and most of all the families who were involved in the research to come to a cure....you have done a wonderful, incredible thing for so many, and I hope the joy you've given people is repaid to you in full.
posted by john_snow at 10:28 AM on November 13, 2017 [12 favorites]

My spouse (MeFi's own Comrade Doll) quit her shitty job and within two weeks had competing offers for better jobs. She picked the one she liked best and starts there today.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:49 AM on November 13, 2017 [12 favorites]

Marlys. Marlys makes me happy.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:03 PM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

I lost my Ruth Bader Ginsberg pin yesterday. While waiting in line for something shortly after I noticed, an ad for the company I purchased it from came up on my Facebook feed and I commented that I was sad that I had lost my pin. The company sent me a private message today and a replacement pin is on its way to me! My frown was turned upside down!
posted by Ruki at 5:21 PM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

I’m being called in for a mysterious meeting next week with the medical director and the brand new “Chief Transformation Officer” of my organization and whatever it’s about, it’s nice to know that “Well actually, go fuck yourself” is a viable response.


Late breaking news: I told them to go fuck themselves.

And I feel really good about it. I've never been able to this, but I spoke truth to power and it came with pure intention and genuine outrage at administrative bean counters who know nothing of medicine who are making decisions where real lives are going to be harmed, perhaps lost with their own financial argument making no internally consistent strength. I showed them my outcome data, showed them where in their own financials my work was more than paying for itself, pointed to the mission statement on the wall, told them where their current values differed from those of us working long hours directly with patients in non-profit community health and asked them if they had anything else for me because I'd been up for hours already working for patients and I had a lot of things to do. Then I got up and walked out 15 minutes into the meeting.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 5:37 PM on November 13, 2017 [44 favorites]

I was out kind of looking for my grandson and his friend who were biking, without permission, and who had stopped by to visit with me for a moment. I saw a huge pile like 1/2 cord of newly cut pine from a tree right there. I stopped and asked about it, those two ladies who are energetic sorts, filled my van with it. I told them it is for my next door neighbor who has some mobility issues, so he can't drive. I took it home, he was overjoyed! It is green and wet and not for this year, but I had some fully dried hard wood in my back yard from a tree that was taken out a couple of years ago and a big leaf pile. We threw all that over the fence, and he decided to clean out the leaves and debris, since it is garbage night. Then he said here this is for you, and he had what looked like a ceramic garden frog, that was under everything. He put it in my hand and I shrieked, it was alive, it was a big danged frog, green and cool about 1/2 pound worth of genuine frog. I have not seen a frog in years, in a couple of score years. I hear them, I recorded a frogs call to be my message notification tone, in my phone, but those frogs are teeny, teeny, not findable in my favorite wetland. It was cool, now he has more than a ton of wood, and it was so easy!
posted by Oyéah at 5:37 PM on November 13, 2017 [13 favorites]

Ps. Anyone want to hire a hard working, tirelessly good intentioned, devastatingly handsome physician to SMASH THE SYSTEM?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 5:48 PM on November 13, 2017 [14 favorites]

Only my fellow Pokémon Go nerds will understand this but I hatched a Chansey with perfect IVs yesterday!

I also went to Trader Joe's this weekend, which sounds pretty ordinary, except that I live in Canada, where TJ's refuses to set up shop, so every time I go I stock up on snacks. I dunno what they put in those dark chocolate peanut butter cups but I basically inhale them...
posted by invokeuse at 5:36 AM on November 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

Way to go, Slarty!! I totally favorited that comment as a model for my own use to stand up to clueless power.
posted by yoga at 6:25 AM on November 14, 2017

Two things: a LONG laugh till your stomach muscles hurt with a friend this week, while begging each other to stop making each other laugh; and this morning I sat and had my coffee with a stranger this morning at the coffee shop. It was lovely and we had a nice chat. Lordy, I wish we could connect more as a society.
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 10:11 AM on November 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

I was happy to discover that Trader Joes sells shaved beef, so I no longer have to go all the way to the Japanese grocery to make the most comforting comfort food.
posted by moonmilk at 5:40 AM on November 15, 2017 [5 favorites]

I came up with the worst pun in the history of puns this week, which requires far too much buildup and explanation, and it made me laugh so hard while walking along the sidewalk that I had to sit down and regain control of my breathing. Then I called my best friend and spent far too long sharing this truly horrible pun between wheezes of laughter. When I was done, he said, "You magnificent bastard." And that is why we're friends.

The pun involves a hypothetical Freaky Friday-esque body swap movie, where the body swap occurs not only across space but time as well, and the two people who swap bodies/minds are actor Richard Gere (playing himself) and musician Bob Marley. The movie is called, WAIT FOR IT, Gere Today, Rasta Mañana.
posted by duffell at 5:56 AM on November 15, 2017 [5 favorites]

My wife recently finished her PhD, with max distinction, is getting a pay raise and was offered the research head position of her department at the university she always dreamt of working at.
posted by signal at 7:10 AM on November 15, 2017 [12 favorites]

There are people in the world this dumb, but funny dumb, ya know?
posted by Oyéah at 11:25 AM on November 15, 2017

^^^LEGALIZE MINOR HOOLIGANISM
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 5:32 PM on November 15, 2017

Everyone.

1. My pug Gibbon (small pic on profile) was feeling puny for about five days and was puking, not pooping, didn't want to drink or eat. He finally pooped and ate yesterday. Tonight he humped a two liter. Never been happier to see him be his asshole self.

2. I won the Most Creative Sampler for this year's Steotchalong for this Goblin King Sampler.

3. Saw St. Vincent in concert last night and it was excellent.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 10:46 PM on November 15, 2017 [5 favorites]

I foster cats now, in addition to having two of my own furchildren.

Its awesome to be able to have some extra snuggles and help bring scared cats out of their shell (these cats were all found living outside, often mis-identified as 'feral'. The organization I'm with does TNR for feral cats, and the adoption/foster branch identifies the non-feral cats and gets them ready to be adopted & live proper lives indoors and pampered).

Right now I have two small kittens, one five month old orange-and-white boy named Wilbur and a 14 week old black-and-white kitten named Pippi. They're completely different personalities, but they love playing together while my two watch and (I'm positive) comment on how nice it must be to be so young. :) I'm still working on getting Wilbur to trust me. When I can convince him to come out, he loves to be held and petted. But he lived in a garage for a couple of months (as a kitten! poor guy!) and is still super skittish. I think after a bit he'll be a super sweet, cuddly cat. Pippi is already a champion cuddler - on her own terms of course. After all there is so much playing to do! She loves being chased.

This is my FB page for the fostering, with all relevant photos and some video: https://www.facebook.com/SFKStratford/
posted by sandraregina at 8:52 AM on November 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

it's royal engagement day! and this tweet made me laugh with joy.
posted by numaner at 9:13 AM on November 27, 2017 [2 favorites]