list the good things about every day

Too good a day not to do this…

• Hotel confirmed my reservation for next week :)
• MADE A SALE for the first time in ages!!
• an extra lump in my pay because of the change in tax codes
• Finally got my CAT certificate in my hot little hands and can officially use the letters after my name! Just in time for…
• Performance review this afternoon
• Going home to pack tonight
• Holiday in less than 2 days!!
• Potential date with Mr. W. tomorrow…!

Reasons why today is already a brilliant day!:

• It’s Friday!
• It’s the Friday before a 4-day weekend!
• Which means I only have to work 3 days next week!!
• One of those 4 days is my birthday!!!!
• I had a great night’s sleep and woke up before the alarm
• Breakfast, coffee, and really exciting gossip with a really great friend
• I have very little to do today and the person who caused work-stress yesterday is off today and the whole of next week!!
• I am having a good hair day and wearing my fave new shirt and jeans for casual Friday
• K just sent me a funny photo of himself being silly. He hardly ever does that :)
• And to top it all, it’s Payday!!!

OK this is several days’ worth but today is fantastic already so I am going to put the gratitude up here first thing in the morning where it belongs!!

• Crimson tide today – this is excellent news because it means that I have managed to completely sidestep the little anxious nigglings that were PMT by focusing on positive thoughts in my new journal, also always a relief after Japan, and GREAT news that it explains why my weight-loss has slowed this week in spite of eating brilliantly. In fact it is a miracle that I have lost any weight at all. woohooo!
• hilarious phone and e-mail exchange yesterday with accounts payable at a place in Ireland, seriously had me falling off my chair laughing.
• getting lost in a really feel-good book this morning on the train – felt like time stopped between having breakfast and getting into work, I was so absorbed
• getting blown kisses across the street from one of the bosses walking to work as I was having my coffee
• jokes with other colleagues on the way into the office
• T and I are exchanging sketchbooks today and it feels so cool just carrying it around!
• Going shopping for paints tonight :)
• TH minus 9 days!!!
• extra-long weekend coming up!
• boss is off for the first half of the morning so can have a slow start
• atmosphere in the office is still lovely!
• weather has been great all week
• free coffee on Monday (the best kind ;)
• feeling well again!

• getting home safe and sound
• surviving the bus trip from hell!
• hot showers!
• tooth-brushing!
• having post to come back to
• looking over photos and feeling happy
• more movies on the plane
• presents to myself – a box of 100yen art materials and another box of ultimate-bathing-kit stuff from K
• the weather being gorgeous
• sleep! Hopefully!

• Excitingday!! And very exciting it has been!
• an excellent day at work – everyone was just in an excellent mood! (maybe it was just my happy presence cheering everyone along?!)
• mass giggles with PiC all through the day
• escaping for lunch with PiC and getting pic-n-mix at woolies
• solving my presents problem
• having coffee with my boss and being able to feel useful (and missed)
• leaving work – so weird to think I won’t be going back for so long!
• the guy downstairs coming out to greet me when I got home – he thought I was his boyfriend! (obviously we have similar footfalls!) those guys are so cute!
• a burst of exciting energy to get me through the cleaning – flat is looking pretty good, I ate my way through the rest of the pea soup (which at this rate I’ll never want to eat again!) and even cleaned the hob so hopefully nothing will spore while I’m away!
• getting through the Chinese stuff
• getting packed – still a little space left in the Magic Backpack, so have managed not to over-stuff it!
• LEAVING!!! TOMORROW!!! WAHHHH!!!

• a good day at work – I tried to stay as busy as possible and keep the excitement down to a dull roar, got through all my work (even the tricky stuff) and was rewarded with a few minutes downtime at the end of the day. It went past really quick!
• lots of thinky-time
• mails with V – always a highlight of the day
• drinking the Sok that R bought me
• not having to be in a rush this morning – even when I’m not getting up for any particular reason, 5.30 on weekdays has stuck!
• a chat with the downstairs neighbour
• a yummy lunch
• TOMORROW is THE DAY of EXCITEMENT!! I am looking forward to tomorrow so much because it’s the last day of pure looking-forward-ness to the holiday before things get practical! I’m going on a plane! I love planes! I’m going to an airport! I love airports! I even love plane food! And movies! And being disoriented in Tokyo in the middle of a Thursday morning! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
  ^{how am I ever going to get to sleep tonight??!}

Yesterday was a really funny day!

• waking up reasonably early and staying awake
• watching trash in bed
• cups of tea (while watching trash in bed!)
• making pea soup – I completely over-estimated the amounts and it made like 17 servings, helpful as I have to get them eaten up by… tomorrow! I’ll be all peed out by then…! But you’re never happier than when surrounded by a kitchen of green sludge.
• chats with K
• having time for a swim, and not making myself do more than I wanted to
• picnic with R! it was still a bit cold but we had fun anyway
• laughing at R skipping
• sitting in the pub watching R draw doodles and generally giggling
• starting the packing and realising I have everything I need, and I am determined not to over-pack which should lighten the load.
• having everything sorted out before the holiday :)

• lay around for most of the day and watched DVDs – it was so relaxing to just be home alone and do whatever I wanted to
• after a really short nap around 5pm I woke up feeling like everything was alright again
• made some great food today
• found exactly the clothes I was looking for
• had a look at some tents eeeeeeeeeeeeek!
• got the flat sooooooooo clean it’s unreal
• being able to stay up later than usual
• it was horrid outside and I only had to go out in it twice!
• painting
• updating Flickr – I had loads of unused space!!

Right, I NEED this right now!

• playing squash this morning with M (PiC2) – really REALLY enjoyed it!!
• getting the bus to work and having breakfast together – it was so much better than being on my own
• bumping into an old pool friend on the bus – haven’t seen her for ages so it was good to catch up
• the bus and the train were both on time
• spent the morning tidying up the office which felt really good – it’s nice to see what a difference it makes and I was quite worn out!
• shopping at lunchtime :) my Japan Wardrobe is shaping up nicely
• free chocolate!
• tomorrow I have very few “must-dos” so I’m looking forward to a nice break
• getting 2 nice mails back from the people I mailed about my trip to JP – they are all going out of their way to see me
• food shopping tonight – going to get loads of veg and salad and live it up a bit this weekend
• I’ve almost gotten through all the work I need to do before I go away – just waiting on a couple of people for stuff now

• texted my landlord about going on holiday and got a funny text back – he knows the situation with K and I and wished me luck with our negotiations, hehe (he wants me to get K to move here so I can still rent his flat, I think, although how he reckons we’d both survive there is a mystery!)

REALLY should have done this yesterday…

• getting the bathroom clean! woohoo!
• new DVDs from lovefilm
• loads of time with PiC after she was off sick the rest of the week – had such a giggle!
• getting the notes finished on that book – that was a relief
• corn cripbread things – they’re actually quite tasty!
• caved and had sushi for lunch!
• using the magic forms to plan some new projects!
• ending up doing an extra walk home when I saw the traffic jam coming out of work
• getting my trousers hemmed – no more scruffamuffinmoose now I have the Magic Jacket!