list three things every day that made me happy

Thursday, November 12

1) I ran this morning, and I didn’t have to force myself to do it. The routine seems to be falling naturally back into place. However, my pace is still slower than normal as I’m trying to take it easy to make sure my knee is fully healed…

2) It was a really busy, stressful day… I was happy to make time to go for a walk during my lunch break… I can usually focus better if I can get out of the office for a while during lunch…

3) I stopped at a taco stand after work, and while I was waiting for my order I was happy to see a little kid there cleaning up after himself, discarding his own trash and wiping off the table where he was sitting… It’s a shame to say that such a sight is more rare than it should be…

Wednesday, November 11

1) I ran first thing this morning, trying to reestablish the routine I fell out of a couple of weeks ago… It was mostly dark, but I did get to see a few Canada geese flying overhead and I heard that lots of killdeer were around though I didn’t get to see any of them. Also, I saw Kevin, the owner of the vegan Vietnamese restaurant I go to, riding by on his bike. He’s always training for something; we waved hi to each other…

2) It was the birthday of one of my coworkers, and I was riding in a car with a couple of other coworkers, a man and a woman, to go to the restaurant where we were going to have lunch. The woman asked the guy who was driving if he was a safe driver. He said he thought he was. She said she heard a study that 90% of people say they’re safe drivers when asked… Well, this guy was definitely not a safe driver, contrary to his assertion. I had to hang on for dear life, and I almost got car sick. I’m happy I survived…

3) I was very happy for light traffic today (see the photo I took of this billboard in Hollywood that I think is cool while I was stopped at a gas station). It was one of those holidays that I don’t have off from work… I wonder how many people really think about the significance of Veterans’ Day. I made some effort to think about it though I’m not sure I fully appreciate it…

Tuesday, November 10

1) I was happy for overcast weather during the drive home late this afternoon. It was a nice change from the morning commute when the sun was streaming in my face…

2) I was happy to get a phone call from my brother. He’s stage managing a play at his university, and he was telling me about all the stresses involved in that…

3) I fell asleep shortly after 9 PM, a couple of hours earlier than usual… I was so exhausted for some reason…

Monday, November 9

1) I slept in a little late this morning, waking up really tired though I seemed to have gotten a decent number of hours of sleep. Though I slept in a bit, I’m happy I still made it to work on time…

2) I was very busy today and still didn’t finish the project I was working on but am now pretty close to being done… It just felt like a productive day…

3) I checked my blood pressure today, and it was 122/70, which I guess is not bad…

Sunday, November 8

1) I ran this morning for the first time in two weeks since I fell down and injured my knees… I wasn’t really into it today, but I forced myself to do it anyway… It wasn’t too bad, but my right knee was sore after the run and I had difficulty walking up stairs the rest of the day, so I may not be 100% back yet…

2) I showed Andrew this picture and asked him what he thought about it. He asked, “So, when was that picture of you taken?” I said, “That’s not me! It’s Matt Damon.” I shouldn’t be too impressed, however, as he only halfway pays attention to the things I show him…

3) I was in Jamba Juice and the girl making my smoothie asked me if I was doing anything interesting the rest of the weekend. I unethusiastically said no, nothing at all. She said she didn’t know how to respond to that or to continue the conversation. I seem to have that effect on people as I totally suck at making small talk. At least we shared an awkward laugh as she said she was just joking…

Saturday, November 7

1) Early this morning I went fishing with Yuan at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area in the San Gabriel Valley (see the photo I took)... It wasn’t that serious a fishing trip, and in fact, we probably did more birdwatching than real fishing. Watching the birds, Yuan said that any fish we would catch would be due to pure luck because we’re not serious. Referring to the birds, he said that they don’t have a refrigerator full of food and if they don’t catch fish they don’t eat, so obviously they have more incentive to be good fishers… It was just nice getting caught up again while spending the time outdoors and then over breakfast at a Chinese restaurant…

2) I spent some time this afternoon at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve not far from where I went looking for birds. I saw several turkey vultures near the river, I was able to get closer to these birds then I ever have been before. Though these aren’t necessarily the types of birds that I want to get that close to, it was very interesting…

3) I went to the movies this evening to watch “Where The Wild Things Are”... I liked it quite a bit. Most films aimed toward children seem to follow a set formula and have some sort of moral or tidy ending. I liked that this film didn’t exactly follow that format. It was a little bit dark (but I don’t think too dark), and there was no perfect ending. Even the boy’s make believe world was invaded by the imperfections of real life…

Friday, November 6

1) I woke this morning and panicked a bit when I saw that the clock said it was 7:30 which would make me obscenely late on a day I had to be early… I was relieved when I realized that this clock hadn’t been moved back an hour yet so I wasn’t so late after all…

2) I was just busy today but was glad that I’m almost done with this urgent project I’ve been working on…

3) I had dinner at my favorite restaurant, The Pita Kitchen, which is in Sherman Oaks and where they make the best falafel, while skimming the latest issue of The Economist...

Thursday, November 5

1) The barista in Starbucks named Patrick asked me if I played video games. When I said no he told me that it was strange for a guy with glasses to not be into video games… I’m happy I don’t fit all the stereotypes…

2) I left work later than normal tonight and afterwards stopped at a taco stand to buy tacos to eat for dinner… When I left the counter after paying for my order, the lady behind me looked at me strangely and pointed at the counter and said “Tu cambio”. I realized that I had almost walked away without picking up my change. I smiled in embarrassment and thanked the woman for letting me know…

3) I was under a lot of pressure today working on a project deemed urgent… It was no fun and tomorrow will not be much fun either, but it was nice to forget everything for a while tonight while watching the latest episode of “Flash Forward”...

Wednesday, November 4

1) Traffic has been really bad this week since the time change… It’s miserable, but at least it gives me a chance to admire southern California’s lovely fall foliage (see the photo I took from my car sitting in traffic and yes I’m being a little sarcastic… This place in the photo is actually where I run though I haven’t been running in over a week but will get back to it this weekend)...

2) Someone told me that what I was wearing in one of my photos made me look like Matt Damon… No one had ever told me before that I had in any way resembled Matt Damon…

3) I went to the mall after work today to “window shop” but didn’t see anything at all that I liked… I went to the Apple store and finally got help figuring out how to get music videos to play on my iPod. I just had to change one of the settings, and it was so simple I felt dumb…

Tuesday, November 3

1) I’m still sort of screwed up from the time change. I went to bed last night unusually late hoping that this would force me to sleep an hour later and help me adjust to waking up at the new time… It didn’t work. I was still awake by 4 instead of 5 and tired from too little sleep but yet being unable to fall asleep again. I’m happy that I somehow managed to function productively today despite my sleep-derprived state…

2) There was an urgent assignment that was thrown on my lap today for which I have to momentarily drop the other stuff on which I’m working. I was kind of perturbed by that and uneasy about the assignment, but by the end of the afternoon I was happy that there seemed to be more structure to it…

2) Eating Thai take-out from the restaurant across the street… I’m just too lazy too cook…

Monday, November 2

1) I was walking in a parking lot coming out of a convenience store this morning when a woman, while walking toward me going into the store, smiled at me and told me “Buenos dias”...

2) I killed some time after work hanging out at this outdoor mall near the Miracle Mile area of LA called The Grove and Farmers Market… I had dinner at the Singaporean restaurant there (see the photo I took; I didn’t have any good photos ideas recently)... I hadn’t been there in a while…

3) This evening I posed as a “model” for an art class, a figure drawing class… This was an interesting experience that I had never had before…

Sunday, November 1

1) I remembered to move the clock an hour back. Though I woke up at 4, an hour earlier than normal, I was able to fall asleep again for another couple of hours…

2) I went on a bird walk in the Sepulveda Basin with a local chapter of the Audubon Society. It was very fun and informative…

3) I spent the afternoon looking at condos for sale in West LA and in North Hollywood… I’m just looking casually now to get ideas, but buying a place is something I’m thinking more seriously about now…

Happy November, by the way…

Saturday, October 31

1) I went for a hike today at Malibu Creek State Park (see the photo I took)... It was a different experience this time because I went with the primary goal of birdwatching, and I did get to see some species that I hadn’t seen before. I had been here many times before but was previously focused on hiking longer distances at faster paces…

2) I was kind of startled this afternoon when I saw this guy walking at a crosswalk who looked like he had been in a horrible, bloody accident and then I remembered that it was Halloween, and it all made sense…

3) I had dinner with Andrew and his friend Mark at a Mexican restaurant in Silverlake called El Conquistador. It was kind of fun because all the wait staff were dressed in costume and the owner, who ordinarily dresses outrageously, was even more funky than usual…

Friday, October 30

1) I was still mentallly drained from yesterday’s exam and was admittedly not all that productive at work today… I was happy that I was mostly left alone today and that I didn’t have any firm demands on my time…

2) I stopped by Starbucks then went for a walk during my lunch break in the Miracle Mile area of LA… The barista in Starbucks asked me if I thought breakfast was obsolete because no one seems to eat it anymore. I said no that I thought it was the most important meal of the day and that I can’t function without eating breakfast (which is true)... I saw an interesting sight for being in the middle of the city during my walk. I saw two crows chasing a red-tailed hawk in the sky and even pecking its wings. I felt sort of sorry for the hawk. Then, I was walking back toward the office, I heard then saw a downy woodpecker up in a palm tree behind the building. I had never seen a woodpecker in this area before…

2) I had dinner at my favorite restaurant, The Pita Kitchen, which is in Sherman Oaks and where they make the best falafel, while skimming the latest issue of The Economist... A police officer sitting at my table eating a pita sandwich asked me what I was eating, and I had to explain to him what falafel was… I should have offered him one…

Thursday, October 29

1) I wrote my actuarial exam today… I’m a little uneasy that I didn’t have time to complete all the problems, but I feel confident about most of what I did complete. If I did as well as I think/hope I did, I may be in good shape, but it’s really hard to say… I’m just happy that this is over for now and that I don’t have to think about it for a few weeks until the results are out…

2) I was really mentally drained and exhausted after the exam. I killed a couple of hours in the afternoon hiking in Griffith Park to clear my mind (see the photo I took from a hilltop with downtown LA in the background)...

3) The new episode of “Flash Forward”... I’m really into this now…

Wednesday, October 28

1) I was lying in bed this morning when I woke up listening to a talk show on the radio, and they were talking about all the traffic problems resulting from the debris of last night’s windstorm… I was happy that I was mostly staying at home studying today so the traffic wouldn’t be a problem for me…

2) I took a break from the studying around lunch time and went for a walk in the Sepulveda Basin… I saw some turkey vultures flying overhead which was pretty cool…

2) My studying for tomorrow’s exam is basically done. I’ll continue some review tonight, but nothing that intensive. I’ve found last minute cramming to be unproductive for these tests. My goal now is just to get a good night’s sleep and be totally focused tomorrow… Thanks, by the way, to everyone who wished me luck… :)

Tuesday, October 27

1) I was happy to have the day off from work to spend studying for my exam…

2) I went for a walk late this afternoon at Lake Balboa in Encino, and it was really windy and colder than normal. There was so much dust in the air from the wind that the sky was kind of orangish-brown. It kind of made for a pretty sunset though (see the photo I took)...

3) I kind of liked the juxtaposition of cold and treacherous outside and warm and quiet inside this evening…

Monday, October 26

1) I slept in later than normal but still made it to work without being too late…

2) There was a funny sign in the lobby of my office building on an orange cone with a little flashing red light that read, “Roses are red, violets are blue, text on the stairs and get a big boo hoo”... I haven’t seen anyone get injured walking while texting, but I wonder if this has been happening to people…

3) I was busy today at work trying to finish a few things before being out the next three days… I didn’t quite finish everything I wanted, but I was happy to leave for the day and have a couple of days to prepare for my test…

Sunday, October 25

1) I stayed in bed a while longer than normal (with still irriatated knees) this morning listening to the weekend edition of “All Things Considered” on NPR and tried to play along and solve the weekly word puzzle… I didn’t do very well…

2) I was happy to take the time and really focus on reviewing for my upcoming exam this week… I’m still nervous…

2) I took a really long nap this afternoon. It was very nice because I didn’t sleep well the past two nights (stressed and not that happy about exam, work, relationships, etc).. I hope tonight will be better…

Saturday, October 24

1) I fell down and scraped my knees while running early this morning but was well enough to just get up and keep going… I’m happy that I didn’t seem to get that badly injured aside from some nasty, irritating cuts on my knees…

2) I’m taking a professional exam next Thursday and spent a few hours preparing for it by retaking last year’s exam… I didn’t do as well as I hoped I would, but I’m happy to have taken the time to understand more what I need to work on during the next few days…

3) I had dinner with Andrew at an Italian restaurant eating eggplant and pasta… Noodles seem to be my favorite food, whether in Italian or Asia cuisine…

Friday, October 23

1) There’s this homeless guy (or at least I think he’s homeless) that is often standing in front of a 7-11 in Koreatown holding the door open for people coming in and out, probably expecting people to give in change for that. Anyway, today I saw him sitting in front of the store playing guitar and playing quite well… It was unexpectedly surprised…

2) I was non-stop busy the whole day today. I don’t know if that made my happy (stressed is probably more like it), but I did feel productive…

3) I stopped at the park before sunset and saw this guy on a skateboard in a field flying this parachute thing (see the photo I took)...

Thursday, October 22

1) Traffic was awful this morning; I don’t understand why Thursdays tend to be unusually bad… Anyway, I was happy that while trapped in my car I had a mildly entertaining radio talk show (check out Peter Tilden on AM 790 if you’re in LA) and my iPod to keep me entertained…

2) I sat through this boring, hard-to-understand meeting this afternoon but was happy that I could follow what was going on and that I didn’t embarrass myself by falling asleep… To be clear, I’ve never fallen asleep during a meeting, but sometimes it is a challenge to stay attentive…

2) Just thinking that in one week from now I will have already sat through my four-hour exam that I’ve been studying for the past few months and have been waiting a year to retake… It makes me nervous, but I’m happy to be able to see the end in sight…

Wednesday, October 21

1) I was running this morning and came across two old men walking together whom I’d seen many times before. One of them was really bundled up, like it was winter, and the other was commenting on how he couldn’t understand why his friend was so cold. As I ran by, not wearing a shirt, he told his chilly friend, “See. He’s not cold”...

2) I went to Starbucks during my lunch break, and I walked to the counter and saw my usual barista, Patrick, and gave him my order. I order the same thing everyday, so when I told Patrick what I wanted, he said, “Don’t you think we’re passed that?” I said, ” Well, I feel like I should say something. ” He said while laughing a bit, “How about say “What’s up?””... I said, “Ok”...

3) I was so exhausted today from the combination of all the exercise, work deadlines, and studying for my exam next week that I couldn’t function well this evening… I was just happy to go to bed a lot earlier than normal…

Tuesday, October 20

1) I went running this morning at 5:30 and somewhere along the way I heard the sound of killdeers (medium-sized plover-like shorebirds) nearby. It sounded like there were several of them but unfortunately I couldn’t see a single one of them…

2) I was really busy and productive today. I guess I’m just happy to be making progress, even if the progress is slower than I’d like…

3) I’ve been making an effort to go to the park and catch the sunset on my way home from work lately (see the photo I took) because I know that I won’t have that luxury when it gets dark an hour earlier after the time change in a little over a week …

Monday, October 19

1) I had to take my car in to the dealership to replace a headlight and for the 80,000 mile service. That didn’t make me happy because it was expensive, but it was kind of fun watching how bored everyone in the waiting room was though I wasn’t that bored myself. I was just happy that I could use the three hours of waiting time to study for my exam coming up next week…

2) In the waiting room of the VW dealership where I was getting my car repaired, there are a few children’s toys. As I was engrossed with putting together this dinosaur puzzle, a salesman shouted, “Sir! Put that down, that’s just for kids!” I was kind of startled, and as I looked up at the guy we both started laughing. He said he was only kidding… I know it’s kind of weird to name two separate instances occurring while waiting for my car to be repaired as my “happy” things, but my day really was otherwise that uneventful…

2) I left work on time to take a walk and catch the sunset (see the photo I took)...

Sunday, October 18

1) I was happy to run this morning… It was nothing special, like I haven’t been able to get that close to my peak times from last week although I do notice I can go consistently for a longer distance…

2) I stayed in most of the afternoon studying for my upcoming exam; I was happy to be focused today…

3) I was happy eating take-out Korean porridge from Bonjuk, my favorite restaurant in Koreatown, while watching “The Amazing Race”...

Saturday, October 17

1) I had a very energetic morning… I ran first thing at sunrise and saw a barn owl flying down from a eucalyptus tree over the field; I’ve only ever seen them at sunrise… When I got back, I practiced for my actuarial exam coming up in a week and a half by taking the 2007 exam, timing myself for 4 hours which is the length of the actual exam. This was a good exercise since it helped me to figure out what we spots to review during the remaining days and to help learn how to pace myself…

2) I was in line at Jamba Juice this afternoon, and a woman kept smiling at me. I wondered why. Finally, she told me she liked my “Periodic Table of Elements” t-shirt and asked where I got it. I smiled and said I didn’t remember. She said she wanted one because she was a science teacher… I’ve gotten comments wearing that shirt before…

3) I was very sad this evening to learn that my friend Mariko’s father had recently passed away… I was sad, but I smiled when I remembered the time that I met him during my visit to Japan three years ago. He barely spoke English, but I remembered how excited he was talking about all the places around the world he had been to and about all the cool electronic Japanese gadgets in his house. He gave me as a gift a two hundred year old Japanese coin. He cooked an excellent dinner and we drank lots and lots of sake and some other special Japanese liquor that I don’t remember the name of. Everytime my glass was half empty he kept filling it to the top. I was so drunk I hardly remember the train ride from Yokohama back to Shinjuku when I left that night… I wish I could have seen him again…