find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

November 24
Off work tonight and decided to stay in. I was going to meet friends for dinner and drinks but decided against it. Besides, I didn’t want to be bothered with the weekend shopping crowds. Though I did venture out to one of my favorite stores, Kohl’s. Bought a nice Belgian waffle maker, and you can guess what will be for breakfast tomorrow morning.

November 23
Black Friday. The store was bananas crazy last night/this morning. Many of my crew were disgruntled at the fact that their Thanksgiving festivities had to be cut short. I can’t blame them. It’s the holiday after all. Black Friday is good for business but a killer for family; those that have to work that is. I tried lightening their moods by keeping them in high spirits by keeping the mood lax. Letting them have extra breaks, and when I could, allow them to sneak off and do some shopping for themselves. Yes, I’m well aware it was against company policy, but you have to keep your workers happy. You’re more likely to get more out of them that way. At least, I believe so.

November 22
Spent Thanksgiving alone. Which is typical. I haven’t celebrated a Thanksgiving or Christmas since my brother passed years ago. The holidays were always his favorite time of the year, and instead of constantly hearing his excitement and eagerness for the last quarter of the year, I’m left with only memories. Happy memories nonetheless.

November 21
Thanksgiving Eve (if there is such a thing). The store was insanely busy tonight, as it is every night before Thanksgiving. I had a few members of my stocking crew called out tonight, but that’s to be expected. My salary supervisor is pissed, but I’m not. It’s the holiday. Most people work every holiday of every year. As a supervisor, I know I’m supposed to have a more “company minded” focus, but as I said, it’s the holiday. The store will survive the night.

November 20
Family came into town for the holiday. I haven’t seen my Aunt and Uncle in YEARS! They’re always traveling abroad to some obscure destination on the globe, and when they are stateside, they’re busy trying to visit all of the relatives they haven’t seen in a while. So I understand, though I do hate the fact that 99% of our communication is via email and skype. Someday, I’d love to be able to travel wherever and whenever as they do.

November 19
Had a nice conversation with a guy while returning my rental car. He’s planning on taking a spontaneous trip for two days, so I recommended Hilton Head. He’s never been and said he would give it a try. The topic of the conversation wasn’t important, just random chatter and pleasantries, but being able to have a healthy conversation with a complete stranger is always a plus.

November 18
Rented a car and decided to take a drive. I wanted to drive up the east coast but I’ll have to settle for Hilton Head, South Carolina for now. I couldn’t get the extra time off because of the Thanksgiving holiday. But that’s okay. I’ll just have to postpone my eastern seaboard excursion for after the new year.

Decided to celebrate Mum’s birthday a little early this year. The surprise party didn’t go too well, but the overall celebration was nice. My Mum has been sick for years, and this year was the first year in a VERY long time she was able to truly get out and celebrate her birthday.

November 16
Had lunch with a few old friends today who are in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. I haven’t seen them in 2 years, aside from pictures on Instagram and Facebook. It’s always nice to catch up with old friends, especially when you find that your friendship has the same energy as it did when you last saw one another. Reconnecting with old friends is always a pleasurable way to spend your free time.

November 15
Yesterday’s hike left me feeling a bit “outdoorsy”. The hike was refreshing, and I don’t know why I’ve never done it sooner considering the close proximity this park is to my house. I didn’t go hiking today, but I did visit a sporting goods store to shop for a new bicycle. I want to get back to riding, something I haven’t done in YEARS! Literally. I haven’t rode a bike since high school, which was well over 10 years ago. I didn’t see anything particularly appealing to me, but one of the salesfloor clerks did recommend a shop downtown. She purchases her bikes and supplies there, and says they even build custom models. Sounds like my kind of place.

November 14
I decided to do something different with my day, since I had tonight off from my part time job. I went on a nature hike. It wasn’t an organized event or a guided tour or anything like that. Just me and the woods. There’s a state park nearby with a number of trails to hike and bike, and I figured today would be a good day for such an adventure. The hike I took was on a 3 mile loop but it was great to be outdoors in the fresh air. I think I may do this more often. It was quite peaceful.

November 13
I decided to take a mini vacation this spring. I haven’t had a real vacation since last August, and before then it was back in Spring of 2007. I’m not sure where I’ll go, but I’m thinking of somewhere quiet, yet busy enough that there’s something for me to do during the day. Or I may not set a predetermined destination. I’ll just rent a car and see where life takes me. Now that I think about it, the later seems more enjoyable.

November 12
Stopped by the farmer’s market earlier today. I bought enough vegetables to last a week for less than $10. Mostly bought cucumbers, zucchini, and an assortment of greens. I love salads. I love vegetables in general. I eat bell peppers the way most would eat an apple. I love the crisp, crunchy, flavorful taste of peppers. The fresher, the better.

November 11
Finally received the final few discs of Grey’s Anatomy Season 8 from netflix. A friend mentioned this season was one of the best so I thought I would check it out. So far so good. She says I’ll be surprised how it ends, so we’ll see. Going to watch as many episodes as possible this afternoon before heading to work.

November 10
Sat at the park today to write. I was suppose to be working on my memoir, but decided to focus on something creative for a little while. So I wrote a few short poems to describe some of the things I saw. I ended up with about 22 poems about everything from squirrels at play, children screaming, adults jogging and stray cats people watching.

November 9
Made a vegetarian pasta bake today. I used kale, spinach, yellow squash, zucchini, mozzarella and asiago cheeses. Turned out pretty good. Maybe next time I’ll add a bit of ricotta cheese to thicken up a little.

Fall is officially in full swing as evident by my parent’s yard being covered in leaves of varying shades of orange, red, yellow and brown. I stopped by as promised to help my dad begin the daunting task of blowing, raking and bagging the dead foliage. It took nearly 2 hours, but we managed to get a significant part of the front yard leaf-free. I never admitted it (though maybe I should have) but I enjoy the time spent with my father. I always enjoy our discussions no matter how abstract or serious they may be. I appreciate them so, because I can see that my father’s (both parents actually) health is wanning, and we won’t be able to have these talks for much longer.

Growing up I never knew my father because he was always traveling for work. It made us grow distant and as I grew older that distance beget disdain and for a time I didn’t speak to my father, even when he and I were in the same room. I blamed my father for a lot of things that he had no control over, and as kids, we don’t ever see the bigger picture. Now that I’m older, and have been able to reconnect with my father, I understand him a lot better. My dad has always tried to do the right thing by everybody and after a while, it takes its toll on a person, and as a result, it affects their relationships with other people as well.

I use to feel guilty for not taking the time sooner to get to know my father, but if wishing for things to change in the past ever amounted to any good, we’d all be happier people. But it doesn’t. I can only use what time I have left and make the most of it. There are many guarantees in life, but time isn’t one of them.

Paid off another credit card today. Feels good to have the debt slowly chipping away. It’s one less boulder to carry from past mistakes. Most mistakes are benign and easy to fix, but it’s the more malignant forms that haunt us. The things that leave scars and linger for years. I made my final payment today with a smile on my face because I’m finally starting to see that light at the end of the tunnel. Though these burdens are not hurting me significantly they are preventing me from expanding into new ventures and investments. Which is a good thing. I’m prone to diving into something head first and consider risk along the way when I believe something is a good idea. At least this way I have to think before I act. Which will only help me to be a smarter, more practical investor.

I thought a lot about the woman in Starbucks the previous day. I think about how worried she was that her son was in the hospital, and though there was treatment available for his ailment she was still in a state of panic and worry. I thought a lot about this and the sugar in my coffee. How I was concerned about counting calories and whether or not a little extra sugar in my latte was going to ruin my dieting. There are a number of things in this world for us to worry and stress about, and I am grateful that my major concern is too much sugar. I could be dying of cancer, starving in a third world country, I could be living in constant fear of my home, school or workplace being blown up at any given moment, but instead I’m worried about sugar. I don’t intend to make insignificant anyone else’s troubles, I am only saying that I am grateful and appreciative that my biggest concern is sugar. It’s a very humbling perspective when you think about it, and it’s because of those who do have and live through worse on a daily basis, that I don’t take any of what I have for granted.

November 5
Stopped by Starbucks this morning for my A.M. latte, and things seemed like a pretty typical morning. I’m reading a copy of the NY Times when this woman comes in, sort of in a hurry, and orders a cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed she was still at the register long after she’d ordered. Apparently she’d forgotten her purse and was looking for enough change to pay. The people in line were looking disgruntled, a few started to complain, so I offered to pay for. She thanked me and told me she had left her wallet in her coat back at the hospital. Her son was being treated for some kind of infection and had to be admitted for a few days. She offered to pay me back, which I declined, and after a brief convo, she was off back to the hospital. The exchange made me think how many parents out there in different hospitals across the country worrying about their children’s health and well being, and here I am worrying about putting too much sugar in my latte. It just put things into perspective for me that morning. What seems like a mountain to us, is a mole hill in comparison to another.

November 4
Went to the park this afternoon to do some leisurely reading. While there I overheard a group sharing poetry. I wasn’t trying to ease drop, but some of the lines were just beautiful to me. I’ve written a number of poems but none of them are as beautiful as these were. I’m always amazed at what people can create when they put their minds to it. Turns out, this group of friends meets once a week at different places throughout the city to share their poetry and discuss different ideas on creative writing and improving their craft. Sort of like their own traveling poetry club.

The other day I posted an entry on 43Things about my struggle with depression and sobriety and I’m amazed at the emails that are still coming in. I honestly never thought I would receive so many responses to that post. So far I’ve received about 20 something emails, which isn’t a large number by any means, but its a heck of a lot more than I would have anticipated for that post. Many of the messages are from other “members” (I hate calling people addicts) sharing their stories about their own troubles with sobriety and they’re so moving. The fact that I’ve written something that makes them want to keep going is a phenomenal feeling, and I don’t mean that in a prideful way. Some have even asked to exchange personal emails to stay in touch as they work towards beating their addictions. Which I’m fine with. One person in particular has inspired me to share this chapter of my life in more detail. I’ll get around to doing that, soon.